


Frontier: Volume 1

by AraniWrites



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Alcohol, Alec can be really harsh when he wants or needs to be, Arguments, Blood and Gore, Burns, Callbacks to the trilogy, Canon-Typical Violence, Cheek Kisses, Commander Shepard mention, Confessions, Destruction, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hospital Scenes, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, More tags will be added on as I update, Nightmares, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reapers, Sensory Overload, Space Battles, Terminal Illnesses, Traya is genderfluid, Weapons of Mass Destruction, but only mentioned it's not shown, mentions of genetic modification
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:27:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 99,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26638828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AraniWrites/pseuds/AraniWrites
Summary: Sara Ryder never asked for this. She never asked for the expectations being the daughter of the famous Alec and Ellen Ryder's would bring. She never asked for an illness slowly killing her from the inside out, or the burden of leaving the Milky Way for a reason no one dared fathom. But she was there, she was involved, and she would make a home for her people in Andromeda-- no matter what the cost may be.Sara Ryder, the genius daughter of Alec and Ellen Ryder, was forced into the Initiative's path, a pawn in a game she didn't know she was playing. When tragedy strikes and she is made Pathfinder in place of her father, she must use all of the skills and knowledge she possesses to face an enemy no one dared expect they would face. She must face pain, hardship, loss and bitter hatred-- good thing she has love, friendship, and a family found in the midst of catastrophe to ensure the survival of everyone in Andromeda.Frontier will consist of three volumes, and is a complete rewrite and revamp of the Andromeda game-- like a novelization of ME:A as if it had been a trilogy instead of one game, with lots of new stuff added in and plot points moved around for storytelling purposes.
Relationships: Kallo Jath/Female Ryder | Sara
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! As you know, I was originally making this series into a comic. But life is busy, especially in these drastic times, and I just don't have time to draw out the story I have in mind. So I will be writing a revised version of Frontier, with one drawing per chapter (when I have time to do so). I will draw them myself, or I will commission other artists in the Mass Effect community! I hope to bring a spark of life back to the Andromeda fandom.
> 
> Please enjoy! I've been working hard on this story for over two years. Please comment and share the story within the fandom-- who knows, maybe bioware will hire me to write the next Andromeda game! Lol!

_“Your daughter passed all two hundred advanced testing courses with near perfect scores.”_

The room was dim. Sara had been having trouble with the lights, so all that came in was light from outside the window. The hospital room was small, plain white wallpaper with only that small window out into the world. The view of the Citadel was nice, sure, but restrictive. Her parents had retreated to the hallway outside with a Salarian and an Asari she didn’t recognize.

Scott was with her. He had helped Sara sit up in her bed and was now acting as her rest, sitting just behind her so she could read comfortably. She wanted to see his homework; she’d missed going to proper school and found the tutoring boring, so they worked on it together, and were just finishing up the science’s portion.

“Parabolic orbit.” She told him, and he wrote it down. She scratched at the small tubes of air that were connected to her nose, itchy and uncomfortable. She wanted to rip them out, and grabbed at the left side without realizing she was doing it.

“Look Sara,” Scott gave her a new distraction while gently pulling her hand down off her face, “Dinosaurs.”

_“We offer advanced mathematic and engineering programs here on the Citadel under our multi-species initiative, Tar'Van's School for Gifted Children. She is the first human invited to take their courses.”_

_“Sara’s only ten years old.”_

_“They want to take her early. Tar'Van's believes she is more than capable.”_

Sara looked out the window as Scott was writing down another answer. She’d heard of some festival the Citadel was hosting, a chance to show off the might of their military fleet. The Citadel’s fleet was beginning to fly overhead, engines thundering, crowds cheering. Scott noticed her staring at the ships, all but forgetting the homework in front of them.

“I want to see them.” Sara told him. Scott knew, of course he did. Sara’s pain was his pain, so far as he was concerned. So he smiled for her instead.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

_“This is all assuming she’s able to leave the hospital at all.”_

_“Under intensive physical therapy, Sara would be strong enough to leave our care in around eight months time.”_

_“That’s just before the next semester is set to start. The school has reviewed her medical situation and are willing to accommodate in any capacity necessary. Tar’Van’s primary focus is the educational advancement of gifted children, regardless of species or medical situations.”_

_“After the therapy is completed, all she would need is medications. However... therapy that intensive would accelerate her illness.”_

_“So it would shorten her lifespan?”_

_“Yes. I’m sorry.”_

Scott took her favorite scarf and gently wrapped it beneath the air tubes. He helped Sara sit at the edge of her bed and helped her pull on her fluffy socks, apologizing softly when he jostled her, making her wince. He quickly slipped into his shoes.

“Are you still cold?”

“Yeah.”

Scott took off his jacket and gave it to her, helping her pull it over her patient’s clothes. Then he took the portable air bag and strapped it around her arm, securing it firmly. He checked all her tubes and her IV just as the kind nurse had taught him before taking hold of her forearms, giving her an encouraging smile.

_“We have some experimental medications ready to be utilized. So far we've had a high success rate; the medications combined with the physical therapy would get her back on her feet. That said, it would still contribute to the acceleration.”_

_“Then… that's a decision she needs to make. Not us.”_

“Ready sisi?” Sara nodded once, already looking exhausted. The bags under her eyes were prominent, but Scott knew better than to focus on them. “Okay. One, two… three.” He helped her off of the bed. Her feet touched the ground, and the sudden weight on her weakened legs caused her to fall to the floor in pain. Scott caught her before she could do any damage, gently lowering her the rest of the way to the cold tile. He kept a firm grip on her as she gasped in pain.

“Come on Sara, you can do it. I got you, stand up.”

Scott knew his sister better than anyone. He knew there was a fire in her, even when she couldn’t show it. But that fire showed now as she looked at him, eyes blazing, demanding her body to stand. So she stood, slowly and painfully, letting Scott take her weight. She put her arm over his shoulders, he supported her from behind with one arm and maneuvered her IV stand with the other, and together the two children limped their way through the door and out into the hall.

The kids didn’t notice their parents standing just down the hall, but they all noticed the two making their way to the big window across from her door. Sara’s nurse started towards them, but Alec and Ellen quickly stopped them; they watched as Sara managed to start walking without Scott’s help, limping right up to the window. She pressed herself to the glass and looked up to the ships passing overhead, smiling as they saw fireworks.

She never let go of Scott’s hand, and he never left her side.

_“Your daughter has potential. Watch. See what she becomes.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psst-- Head on over to tumblr and follow my **[official Frontier page](https://the-andromeda-frontier.tumblr.com)** for updates!


	2. Waterfalls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara Ryder, stuck under an unofficial house arrest on Luna Base in the Sol System, is given the opportunity of a lifetime-- a chance to join the Andromeda Initiative as a Mathematician, building what will be known as their primary scout ships; the Tempests.

Sara was going to lose her goddamn mind.

Earth was nice, sure. The view from Luna Base was spectacular— she could see her home, South Africa, from here. But it was too quiet, too mundane, too goddamn _boring_.

“What the hell am I doing, Scotty?”

Sara went about her horrible day. She was head of a small team, all equally as bored with the daily codes that scrolled across their screens. The Alliance couldn’t even spring for decent food, ungrateful asses. 

“I'm going to whither away without doing anything at this rate. Just spinning in damn circles. They're just keeping me here like I'm some criminal. An undergraduate could do what they're making me do. Programming launch codes? Come on. Do they think I don't notice?”

Sara ended her day with a visit to the medical wing. Her physician had been running an increasingly elaborate number of tests over the last weeks, and finally the results had come in. Sara couldn’t say she was surprised. It seemed the numbness she felt did not stop at her daily desk duty.

Scott’s face was illuminated on her computer, concerned and sympathetic. He was in his Alliance standard issue armor, giving her a call before the start of his shift guarding a near abandoned relay at the ass end of nowhere. 

“I'm stuck in the same boat, sis. My transfer requests keep getting denied.” He leaned forward to catch her wandering gaze, his brow creasing. “Have you told mom and dad the news?”

“Sent mom a message. Whether she sees it today or next week is up for debate.”

“I’m so sorry I can’t be there.”

That woke Sara up, just a little. She looked at him squarely, fondly exasperated. “You don’t need to baby me, I’m just fine.”

Scott was quiet for a moment, staring at her. Though perhaps not at her: more like he was staring at a memory of her.

“Stage three, Sara. That’s… big.” He muttered, voice heavy, swallowing hard, “Maybe I want to take care of you. For my own sake.”

Sara wanted to hug him, but he might as well have been in another galaxy entirely, “I didn’t call to make you worry.”

“How can I not be worried?” He asked her, leaning back again. His eyes blazed up with protectiveness, a fight response she knew well. “You're alone on Luna Base. I'm alone at the ass end of nowhere guarding a damn relay. I don't trust mom or dad to check on you with any degree of competence or frequency. So yeah I'm worried. Of course I'm worried.”

Sara smiled, trying to lighten his sour mood, “The last time you were this concerned you escaped rehab just to check on me. How much do I have to pay you to not leave your very secure Alliance job?”

Scott huffed, but took her bait without complaint. There were more important battles to fight. “Ice cream. Three scoops with fudge and sprinkles.”

“Do you even get paid over there?”

He smiled for her, unconvincing but thoughtful, “That’s classified.”

Sara laughs heartily, and that was all he needed to hear.

The following noise was not one he needed to hear. It was the heavy footsteps of his Captain, coming around the corner. He stood in the open doorway, barely pausing to acknowledge him. “Ryder, you’re on duty in ten.”

“Yes sir.” Scott replied. His captain walked away just as quickly as he had come.

“Go on, Scotty. I’m going to get this place cleaned up.”

Her apartment was a mess. Happens, when you’re questioning the point of existence every night.

“Okay. Don’t forget your meds.”

“I wont.” Sara tapped her chest above her heart twice, making her brother smile. “Love you.”

He tapped his chest, his heart, twice in turn. “Love you too, sisi.”

Scott’s face disappeared from her computer, and Sara sat back with a long sigh. She scrubbed at her face and neck for a moment, running her fingers through her curls. Then she pushed herself up and got to work cleaning. It was something mindless, something routine to pull her out of any spiraling trains of thought— specifically trains which led to consideration of her steadily worsening health, and what that meant for her future.

Dirty laundry in hand, Sara passed by her computer just as it dinged with a message. She stopped and glanced, seeing said message was from her father. Sara rolled her eyes, having exactly no energy to deal with him at that moment. But as she left her computer dinged again, and again, over and over until she finally stomped back over, glaring pitifully at the screen.

Her father had sent her a note and a series of files. His message was short and direct, and she couldn’t help the small bubble of disappointment that welled up in her chest.

_Sara,  
These files will interest you. Your mother wants you to know that she'll call you soon. She's at a conference.  
\- Sent via SAM_

Annoyed as she was, Sara couldn’t ignore the files he’d sent with the message. The very first caught her eye, one labeled “Andromeda Initiative”.

As Sara opened each file, she realized what she was looking at. It was an elaborate plan to send a group of ships to the Andromeda Galaxy. Included was a file on something called a “Tempest”, a video of a woman describing the monumental leap that would be taken by those who chose to explore this new galaxy. It detailed a position known as a “Pathfinder” who would explore this new galaxy, and a series of planets within a cluster known as the Heleus Cluster which were predicted to be perfect for settlement. At the end there was a screenshot of a series of messages sent between her father and a woman named Jien.

“Screw protocol. I need a mathematician, someone who knows how to read the numbers.”

“Then bring my daughter in on the Initiative. Sara can handle any project you need her on.”

“I'd like to avoid a conflict of interest, Alec. I trust your word, but would she agree to a project this massive given your involvement?”

“Sara's an adult. I think my involvement is irrelevant. You'd have to ask her yourself.”

“I need her to create math that might not even exist yet. The Tempest needs to be pushed to the limit for Andromeda. Can she do it?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay. I'll check over her credentials.”

To say she was befuddled was an understatement. She’d never even heard of this strange project— more over, she couldn’t think of how it would even work. And why was her father involved?

A moment later her omni-tool began to beep with an incoming call, labeled Restricted, and Sara had the momentary, eerie feeling of being watched. Of being haunted.

That feeling passed by quickly as she answered the call. “Hello?”

“Yes, hello!” A woman replied with a cheerfulness that almost made Sara groan aloud. She did _not_ have the energy for this. “Is this Sara Ryder?”

“Yes. And you are?”

“Jien Garson. I'm Director of a project known as the Andromeda Initiative. Are you familiar with it?”

“Only just.” Sara replied, scrolling back through the files her father had sent her way, “I just received some interesting information on your Initiative. I’ll admit that I am a little confused, but it sounds like you’re looking for a Mathematician.”

Jien laughed lightly, a pleasant sound, “I see, Alec strikes again.”

“You two are friends?”

“Absolutely. He’s spoken highly of you.”

Sara sat back, “Well, then I doubt I have to recite qualifications. Andromeda huh? That would mean over a thousand years in stasis at a lowest estimate. I didn’t think we had FTL capabilities of that caliber.”

Jien sounded proud, confident, as she replied, “Actually, our projected time in stasis is around six hundred and forty years.” This got Sara’s attention. So much so that she straightened up completely, quickly going back through the files once again for something she missed. “We’ve recently developed a new kind of warp drive, one we call an ODSY drive. It automatically reuses the power it generates and collects hydrogen from space as we’re in transit. It’s able to retain constant speeds over the entirety of our intergalactic flight, no flight crew necessary.”

Sara scoffed, “That’s preposterous. No offense.”

Realizing she wouldn’t get any more useful information from the files she’d received, Sara stood to continue cleaning up her apartment. She left her tool on her desk and picked up some books to put away.

Jien laughed again, “None taken. The fact that you’re questioning me is a great sign. I know it seems impossible, but I assure you the Andromeda Initiative is very real and very plausible. We plan to go where no Milky Way race has ever dared to reach. There’s a Universe out there to discover, and we now have the chance to see a new corner of it.”

The rhetoric smelled so thick of corporate propaganda that Sara felt like she was standing in New York’s Time’s Square. “What’s this got to do with me?”

“We’re building four Scout ships to be used in Andromeda.” Jien explained, “We need a ship that’s fast, faster than anything we have here. We don’t know what we’ll face out in Andromeda so our Pathfinders, our spears, will need to be able to scout out the cluster in ways that our larger Arks can’t. That means I need new technology, tech that doesn’t exist yet, something that can push a scout ship faster and harder than anything we’ve seen. We’ve built up a team based on Sur’Kesh, the Salarian homeworld, they’re building what will eventually become the base model for all four of the Tempest ships. They’re also drawing up the blueprints for our smaller Bravo scout ships. All they need is a Mathematician, and I want you to be that Mathematician.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“Your fathers work went south.” Sara stopped dead. She said it so casually, but Sara had not forgotten. She wondered just how much Jien knew. She had a feeling it was more than she’d like. “Seems the Alliance is keeping an eye on you now, it was a hell of a thing trying to track you down at all. I’m sure the Alliance wants your mind, but genius like yours shouldn’t be held down in a cold base on Luna. Instead of programming launch codes, you could make incredible contributions to science and engineering in ways no one thought possible. They’ve backed you into a corner, Ryder, they’ve branded you like you’re a criminal despite your innocence. I want to offer you a way out. A new beginning.”

Sara’s eyes trailed to her coffee table. She’d been making a binder filled with letters of rejection from companies all across the Milky Way. She had tried so hard for so long to get out of the Alliance, but no one would take her. No one wanted the daughter of a disgraced criminal. Each rejection stung worse than the last.

Jien continued, oblivious to her wanderings, “If you are anything like your parents, then you’re _exactly_ what we need to make the impossible possible.”

No one wanted her, not even the Alliance really wanted her around. But perhaps, finally, her luck could change. Perhaps she could finally make her own destiny.

“Are you interested?”

—

Sara walked through the halls of the Citadel. It was just as beautiful and pretentious as she remembered it. She made her way through Presidium docking bays with suitcase in hand, making her way to her shuttle bay to await her flight to Sur’Kesh.

As she reached her docking bay she found a place to wait by the viewing window. She watched the ships coming in and out of the Citadel, lost in her own head. Behind her the Citadel news was talking about a topic she’d rather not remember. It seemed their wounds were still fresh, however, so she kept her head down.

“In other news: Alec Ryder— former military attache’ to the Citadel— has been officially dishonorably discharged from the Alliance Military. The Alliance claims no responsibility in Ryder’s illegal creation of AI systems and have condemned his actions. Recently a thorough C-Sec investigation, and internal investigations led by the Alliance Military, have cleared Sara Ryder— Alec Ryder’s daughter— of all charges relating to her potential involvement in her father’s work. Sara Ryder is best known for being the first human to be invited to Tar’Van’s School for Gifted Children, where she graduated with honors at the age of fourteen after just four years of study. She is credited for being one of the youngest graduates in Tar’Van’s history.”

As usual, they only knew parts of the story. But Sara kept her eyes to the space outside the window and waited for her shuttle, decidedly _not_ thinking about her goddamn father.

Her focus shifted when some Salarian children began to ooh and aah at a ship about to pass the window. Sara watched a large Alliance ship fly by, with the name Normandy lettered on its side. She was always impressed by the innovations of humanity, but she was also determined to make a ship even more beautiful.

An announcement came over the loudspeaker, “Shuttle S47 to Sur’Kesh, now boarding.” So Sara grabbed her bags and made her way to the loading bay, where her luggage was taken and she boarded with only a few curious glances. The ship was mostly made up of Salarians, but that was to be expected. Sara settled down, ordered a fruity non-alcoholic drink, and opened up a book she’d bought all about Sur’Kesh, settling in for the ride.

The shuttle was fairly quick in its flight, but it still took much of the day. Sara had read through most of the book by the time they left FTL, Sur’Kesh appearing in the distance. The star system itself was beautiful.

As she looked out the window, she heard some whispering and muffled voices to her side. She could heard another Salarian, someone older, chuckle quietly.

“It’s okay,” They said, “you can ask her.”

Sara shifted, but otherwise made no move to acknowledge them, unsure of who they were talking about. So she simply listened as children began muttering amongst themselves.

“You ask.”

“Me? Why not you?”

“She looks scary!”

“No she doesn’t.”

“Then you ask her! I’ve never talked to a human before!”

“Fine.”

Ah, so they were talking about her after all.

A moment later Sara heard a child come closer to her seat, “Excuse me, ma’am?” Sara turned from the window to the child. To her surprise there were six young Salarian children, all in various stages of ‘hidden’ from her view, who were staring at her in curiosity. A slightly older child was the one who’d addressed her, “Do you have to paint on your clan markings _every day_?”

Sara stared at them a moment, very sure she’d never worn clan markings in her life. But it only took a second for her to interpret their question; her eyes fell to the tattoos that adorned her arms, making their way up part of her neck, colorful and bright.

Sara had always loved her tattoos. Alec had let her get her very first when she was twelve, after a very tough hospital visit. She got more whenever she could. Up her right arm was a depiction of every planet in the Sol system, including Pluto. Each planet was backed by a splash of watercolor, like paint had seeped into her skin, making the planet’s colors pop. On her left arm was a tree, her favorite kind from Earth. She had many more— on her stomach, her shoulders, up her neck and down her back. She was sure to get more. There was always room for more.

“Oh!” She laughed lightly, turning to face the children, “No, they’re tattoos, see? They’re permanent.”

Sara held out her arms to show the children, who crowded around to get a better look.

“Oh! What’s this one mean?”

“It’s a cherry blossom, an Earth tree.”

The children marveled over her tattoos for a while, asking her all kinds of questions. She was more than pleased to answer them, paying no notice to Sur’Kesh as the shuttle got closer. It was only when their pilot called for passengers to take their seats that the children bid her goodbye. They ran back to their guardian and told him all the things Sara had told them.

Sara watched out the window as Sur’Kesh was revealed to her. It was very much like Earth, but the jungles seemed to be a darker green than Earth’s were. There was far more of it as well, in fact most of the land she could see was nothing but jungle, split apart by massive oceans dotted with islands.

The shuttle descended through the atmosphere, revealing those jungles in greater clarity. The oceans were deep turquoise mixed with hues of blue, with coral reefs spread as far as the eye could see. Colorful flocks of birds flew in huge numbers over the jungle canopy. Sara wondered what was beneath the treetops. The jungles were often split apart by massive rivers and huge waterfalls, merging together, breaking apart. In the distance storm clouds created vast streaks of lightning easily visible from the shuttle windows. Many towns and small cities were nestled up against the waterfalls and rivers, built into the sides of their cliffs, allowing the water to flow between their buildings harmlessly.

Sometimes they stopped at a massive city to drop off passengers. These were built in the midst of the jungle surrounding waterways. Huge skyscrapers towered over the jungle canopy, while smaller buildings utilized the shade of the trees. Trams circled from building to building overhead. The cities seem crowded, but not terribly so. Sara was enchanted.

Finally, their last stop was at a smaller town that was not really a town. She realized it was the Initiative’s facility, where Sara was being stationed. It sat atop a long stretch of cliff, with a single huge waterfall flowing through the middle of the city before falling from the edge, hundreds of feet to the river below. It was so tall the water turned to mist by the end of its decent. The facility overlooked a sprawling valley, where the river ran on for miles into the horizon. In the far distance, Sara could see a traffic lane for sky cars, and snowy mountains far beyond. In the side of the cliff Sara saw many windows carved into the rock— crew apartments, perhaps?

The shuttle entered a docking bay carved into the cliff. There must have been many tunnels and hallows carved into the cliff; Sara wondered how deep it went. She gathered up her luggage and left with the last few passengers. The Salarians seemed to know where they were going, but Sara had been instructed to wait for someone to escort her, so she waited. Soon enough another Salarian approached her, a female in a long and flowing dress with delicate embroidery, light material made for the humidity of the planet. Sara was grateful they had warned her of the heat, comfortable enough in the skirt and blouse she’d chosen.

“Sara Ryder?” She asked with a polite smile.

“That’s me.”

“Del Jasin,” They shook hands. Del had a firm and sure grip, “Welcome to Sur’Kesh. I’ll be showing you around our facility today.”

“A pleasure. Quite a view out there.”

“It is, I never tire of it.” The two began to walk; Del seemed to have a schedule to keep. “I trust your journey here was satisfactory?”

“Of course.” Sara told her with a firm nod, “Sur’Kesh is beautiful. It reminds me of Earth.”

“I have seen images of your homeworld,” Del mentioned, “It’s refreshing to know that our species seem to come from similar lands. We hope you’ll be comfortable here, Ms. Ryder.”

Their first stop was the apartments, carved into the cliff. They were all underground, Del mentioned that it was easier to keep their living quarters cool this way. Sara didn’t have any time to look, she simply dropped off her suitcase before following Del up to ground level, through what seemed to be an indoor assembly area mixed with a visitor’s center. A huge stained glass window painted rainbows across the space.

“I suppose it is a bit humid…” Sara muttered, pulling at her blouse, already starting to sweat.

“Just a bit?” Del asked her, thoroughly amused.

“Okay, perhaps a lot.”

They finally made it outside, and Sara squinted from the brightness of the sun. It was a moment before she realized that the heat of the sun was being blocked from her skin, despite her ability to see the light. She looked up and saw it— massive glass inverted domes, covering long walkways throughout the entire facility. They were supported in the center by metal tubes… funnels? Del stopped and smiled, allowing her a moment of awe.

“It rains quite a lot here.” Del told her, answering an unasked question.

“All year?”

“Of course.” Del extended her hand upward, showing off the domes. Upon a closer look, Sara could see the hexagon glass panes they were made up of. “Permanent fixtures such as these protect the facility from long-term rust and erosion without damaging our surrounding ecosystem. These also funnel the rainwater down into the cliff to be processed; the majority of this facility’s water and power supply comes from rainfall.”

“Wow…”

Del gave her another moment before ushering her along, leading her to the right of the assembly center. The facility was one long line atop the cliff, with a single large walkway leading to each building along the row. All around them were sprawling vistas and jungles, with many animals flying and buzzing around them.

“The footbridge to the left of the assembly center will take you to stores, medical clinics and other necessity centers.” Del pointed to a building they passed, with many balconies and a sophisticated air, “This is the Initiative Operations center.” Finally they stopped in front of two large buildings at the end of the walkway. One was at the extreme end of the walkway, while the other was to the side, further tucked into the jungle. “To the left is our Science center, and straight ahead is our Engineering department-- your department.”

“Doesn’t really look like one.” Sara mentioned as they entered the building. Del swiped a pass, then handed it to Sara. 

“All construction happens underground. These elevators can take you there. All offices are above ground.” 

The two stepped into an elevator, and Del pressed the very top button. They shot upward, soon contained in a glass tube where those going up could look out at the beauty of Sur’Kesh. Sara noticed the pattern right away— the vast majority of their layouts and architecture were made in circular patterns. Even their buildings were rounded instead of square, like she was so used to on Earth.

The elevator dinged, and the two stepped out to a hallway. There was only one office ahead of them. Del stepped in first, pushing the door open to allow Sara inside.

This office was big, circular once again, with a massive balcony behind several desks. One wall held boards with drawn and pinned blueprints and other such data. The other wall contained a holo-communicator and a mini-kitchen. In the center, situated in a loose circle, were six desks. Occupying this space were five individuals, who all looked up as the two entered. 

Sara saw the largest desk was occupied by a woman with bright red hair. A Salarian sat at the next desk over, with a Quarian standing beside them, both of them seemingly looking over some papers. The next desk had another human, male this time with light brown skin and glasses on his nose, an older man. The last desk was occupied by an Asari, with a bright smile and pink facial markings.

The Quarian perked up as they entered, standing straight, “Del! Finally decided to ditch administration, huh?”

Del laughed lightly, shaking her head. It was immediately obvious there was friendship there, “Your smartass mouth will land you in trouble one of these days, Teon. May I have a moment?”

All five of them immediately stood and formed a semi-circle in front of them. Del placed a light hand on Sara’s shoulder. “This is Sara Ryder, she’s now your Mathematician on the Tempest project, and she has extensive Engineering qualifications. If she is not treated well, I will hear about it.” The group laughed and rolled their eyes, parroting a series of _‘yes mother’_ ’s back at her. Del was pleased, and turned to Sara with a calming smile, “You have my frequency Ms. Ryder, if you need anything please contact me. I must return to my duties.” With a nod, Del left the room, allowing the group time to introduce themselves.

The woman with bright red hair stepped forward, shaking Sara’s hand and looking her up and down, “Welcome to Sur’Kesh. I’m Lucille Diawara, lead designer of the Tempest project. I’d heard you were coming.” She stepped to the side, holding out her hand to indicate each person behind her in turn, “This is the crew— Kallo Jath, pilot and engineering assistant; Sorenna Helikos, our programmer; Teon'Adda vas Moreh, aerospace engineer; and James O'Connell, systems designer.”

The Asari, Sorenna, practically launched herself forward to shake Sara’s hand. Sara was startled as she practically vibrated in her skin, a huge grin plastered to her face. She looked starstruck. “I read your thesis on _The Dependability of Interspecies Mathematical Conversion_.” Sorenna nearly squealed with excitement. She could have been sparkling, if Sara were a little less professional and tried to imagine it, “I’m so glad to meet you in person, Ryder!”

An embarrassed smile wormed onto her face. She tried to play it off, unused to such enthusiastic attention, “Thank you.” She managed, thinking that she must have been blushing. “But it’s just Sara, if you don’t mind.”

The male human, O’Connell, hummed thoughtfully, “Your accent… Zimbabwe? Lesotho?”

Sara brightened immediately, the man has a distant accent himself, “South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal. And you?”

O’Connell held out his hand, “Kenya. Sawubona, Sara.” He knew the traditional three handshake Sara had grown up with, and Sara returned it with great delight.

“Yebo, sawubona!” She greeted him in turn. 

Lucille pulled Sara’s focus back to the task at hand, “Come on, we’ll show you what we have so far.” She led Sara to her desk. The rest of the group went back to work, although clearly listening to the conversation. Lucille sat down and started handing data to Sara, “Our early Tempest prototypes were good, but they weren’t want the Initiative wanted. Their speeds were sub-par at best. The only thing they do know right now is that they want it to be fast. We need to push its drive core to the limit. That’s where you come in. Can you calculate our speeds and power distribution, find us a way to increase productivity and capacity?”

Sara scanned the data, determined. This was her arena. “Absolutely.” She said with a confident nod.

“Good. We’re excited to work with you.”

“I’m happy to be here.”

Lucille pointed at the empty desk, “Please, make yourself at home.” She smiled before returning to her work, clearly indicating their discussion was over.

Sara went to her desk and sat down, pulling her laptop out of her bag. With a deep breath she settled in and got to work improving their previous calculations. 

The hours passed by into evening time. One by one the crew left for the night, saying their goodbyes in between yawns and bleary eyes. Finally Sara was the only one left, noting the time with a jump; according to Kallo, the Engineering teams were given fairly strict hours to work, to make sure none of their groups worked outrageous overtime. There were too many mixed in species and the Initiative worried about accidents due to overworked Engineers, a policy she agreed with in theory, but in practice she was known for losing track of time. By the time she left most of the offices were dark, spare a few people burning the midnight oil. Night on Sur’Kesh was warm with refreshing brushes of wind that passed across the bridges. The waterfalls made for wonderful and relaxing white noise.

Sara’s apartment was small, a studio by human standards. There was a small kitchen situated in an alcove to the side, with a ledge and window looking back out onto a small dining table. A human’s bed was on the far side of the room with a nearby closet and bathroom, and a couch with a short coffee table took much of the rest of the space. There was only one window, but it was large, situated at the center of the wall across from the front door with a plush seat beneath it, supported by drawers for further storage space.

She had to admit, they did a good job in replicating a human-like setting. It was nice to see them trying to accommodate the various species that were working on the Initiative.

She went to open the lone window, letting in the breeze. It was too dark to see the valley below, but she could listen to the waterfall that flowed not too far away. In the distance she could see that highway in the sky, still lit up by passing skycars.

Sara sighed and stretched, finally able to take a breather. She turned on the TV to a news channel, then left her omni-tool online on the dresser. She pinged Scott for their daily scheduled call, unpacking while she waited to see if he would reply.

She took out her holo-pictures and hung them along the wall. They depicted her family and old friends. Most of the pictures were of her and Scott; one of her favorites was one of them dancing a lindy hop during a competition, Sara in a bright blue dress, Scott in a suit with a tie to match her. Another picture was of Sara and Alec in bright vests sitting under a tarp during a rainstorm, mud flowing all around them. They were surrounded by supplies and a few other humans; a trip that had turned into the two of them running rescues for local villages, digging trapped civilians out of rubble. Another picture was of her mother in her younger years, still as beautiful as Sara always knew she was.

Sara pulled out her framed degrees and hung them proudly on the wall. She remembered her time at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College, where she’d spent so much of her youth studying her heart out. She was beyond proud, and always hung them where she could look at those degrees and remind herself of all that she had accomplished.

****

University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College  
of  
South Africa  
The Board of Trustees, on recommendation of the Faculty, has confirmed upon  
SARA AMAHLE RYDER  
The degree of  
MASTER OF COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE  
With a secondary degree of  
BACHELOR OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING  
With all its privileges and obligations.  
Given at Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the first of November, 2178

University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College  
of  
South Africa  
The Board of Trustees, on recommendation of the Faculty, has confirmed upon  
SARA AMAHLE RYDER  
The degree of  
DOCTOR OF MATHEMATICS  
With a secondary degree of  
BACHELOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING  
With all its privileges and obligations.  
Given at Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the first of November, 2181

Just as she was finishing unpacking, her omni-tool rang out. A picture of Scott’s face flashed on the screen, and she smiled wide as she answered his call.

“Sawubona, Scotty!”

“Hey!” Sara knew he was grinning too, “Sorry I’m late, just got in. You made it to Sur’Kesh?”

“I did. Gosh, it’s beautiful here Scott. I’ll send you a picture of my view in the morning. I half expect them to kick me out of here in a case of mistaken-identity.”

“They wanted a Mathematician, and they got one. Is the Tempest all you thought it’d be?”

“Tempest?” She scoffed, “Damn thing doesn’t exist yet, not even in a blueprint. What _is_ there is, well…”

“Classified, gotcha. What about the doctor?”

“I’m seeing him tomorrow.”

“Good. Did mom ever call you?”

Sara paused in her unpacking, glancing to the framed picture of her mother, “No. She forgot.”

Scott sighed heavily, “That’s the third time.”

“I know.” Sara muttered, sitting in the seat below her window, “You think something happened? Mama’s been so sick lately, I doubt she has much time left…”

“If something happens dad will let us know.” Scott told her, “Just keep on keeping on, better not to let it get under your skin.”

“Yeah.” She sighed.

“We should both get some sleep, it’s late and I’ve got an early shift. I’ll call you again tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure.” She nodded, despondent.

“And Sara?”

“Hmm?”

Scott hesitated. Sara shut her eyes, slumping. He seemed to know she did. “…Love you.” He told her instead, an easy statement of fact, “Night sisi.”

“Love you too. Night Scotty.”

Sara hung up the call, upset and conflicted and lost. And she knew that out there in the stars, her twin felt exactly the same.

\--

_Mama?_

_Dad?_

_Mama?!_

_SARA!_

A glass of orange juice shattered on the floor, startling Sara out of her studies.

She looked around frantically. There was no orange juice, no glass on the floor. Her school was exactly the same as it had always been, though perhaps a bit… bright. Hues of white and orange reflected off the floor and the walls. Her classmates were wandering from room to room with their parents, showing off all their projects, bathed in heavy shadows. Confused, Sara returned to her homework, sitting on a bench tucked away in a corner of their lunchroom.

Out of the corner of her eye Sara noticed a Salarian with blue skin watching the activity. At that moment he noticed Sara sitting there, and a look of concern passed over his features. He came over and knelt down in front of Sara, allowing her to enter in a few more numbers to her homework before setting it aside to greet him.

“Hello Principle Volunn.” She nodded to him respectfully.

“I’m sure your classmates would like you to join them.” He told her with a kind smile, “Aren’t your parents coming?”

“No sir,” Sara replied, scratching at the oxygen tubes in her nose, taped to her face, “they’re working today.”

Volunn looked sad for her, “Again?”

“They’re always working.” Sara told him, matter-of-fact, direct. It was tough, being twelve.

Volunn nodded, trying to appear casual for her, “Well, why don’t we go and join your classmates anyway. You’ve made some extraordinary projects this year, I’m sure they’ll want to see.”

Sara was acutely aware of the tubes, the dark circles below her eyes, the slightly sunken cheeks still trying to regain their rosy hue. “I don’t like the stares, sir.”

Volunn looked like he wanted to say something, but he held his tongue instead.

“You’re just sitting, that’s boring.”

Sara’s head snapped to the new voice. Volunn shattered in front of her. Sara didn’t care, because Scott was standing there in his favorite pink shirt, backpack slung over his shoulder. “It’s family day! You’ve got to have cool stuff to show me.”

Sara sat there stunned for just a moment. Then she glared at him, pointing her finger accusingly, “It’s _parents_ day. You’re supposed to be in school.”

Scott rolled his eyes, “Ah, if I’m lucky it’ll take them at least an hour to notice. So, what’ve you got? Anything good?”

Sara gaped at him, “You’re an idiot. They’re going to give you detention.”

Scott just smiled at her, and held out his hand. It was tough, being twelve, but her twin made it a little less painful.

“So?” Sara stared at him, stunned, “Stop sitting here feeling sorry for yourself. Get up.”

Sara stared. Then she smiled. She reached for him, grabbed his hand, he pulled her up and then—

Then it shattered. Everything shattered.

_“Sara! Get up! Please get up!”_

Sara gasped as the bench below her shattered and fell away. She fell backwards into murky darkness, shards of glass floating all around her. In the glass were images of a terrible day— she didn’t remember much, but she remembered searing pain, quick breaths, and _screaming_.

“Mama?! Sara fell!”

She could see him above her, staring down at her, tears streaming down his face. His omni-tool laid on the ground next to them. He was nine.

“She’s not talking, she just keep screaming! What’s happening to her?!”

Orange juice flowed into a crack in the floor tiles, spilling from the shattered cup she’d dropped.

“Calm down mtanami, I’m coming home. Sara’s going to be fine.”

Medical teams rushed in, talking loudly, too loudly, bright lights shining in her eyes. One of them pulled Scott away, an Asari in a white and red medical uniform. She pulled Scott to the side and held him as he sobbed into her shoulder, babbling about what had happened, trying to answer her questions.

“I’m so scared mama. Why won’t dad answer the phone?”

Her parents aren’t there. She screams for them. The medics try to hold her down, which makes her struggle more. Scott sprints back to her and almost falls on top of her in his haste to grab some part of her. He ends up latching onto her hand, and she immediately calms down.

“He’s dealing with an Alliance emergency right now.”

Scott talked to her. He wasn’t crying anymore. He pressed his forehead against hers and he talked to her, told her it would be okay. The medics let him.

“But Sara fell!”

Sara closes her eyes. When she opens them she’s somewhere new, and it’s too bright. She can see doctors over her, talking back and forth, and she can only register pain, pain, _pain_. 

“Scott, your sister needs you to be strong.”

They’re moving, moving so quickly. Scott appears again, like he’s floating beside her, moving at the same speed. He’s talking to her frantically, trying to get her to focus. She can’t, because there’s only one thought in her mind:

_I’m dying, I’m dying, oh god Scotty I’m dying I’m dying I’m—_

“Just hang on to her, okay?”

She must have said it out loud, because Scott shakes his head furiously. He told her she wasn’t going to die. 

She didn’t believe him.

“Okay…”

Sara squeezed her eyes shut, preparing herself, waiting for—

Sara shot up, gasping for air, clawing at her bedsheets. Panting heavily, she looked around in a daze. It took her a minute to remember where she was, but when she did she sighed heavily and let the tension melt from her shoulders. 

She was in bed, in her apartment on Sur’Kesh. She had arrived the day before.

It was just a nightmare. 

Sara scrubbed at her face, breaths uneven. She reached for her datapad and opened it, going to a picture she kept in easy access. It was of her first days in Huerta Memorial Hospital, unconscious and barely clinging to life. Scott was there, laying beside her. He had her wrapped up in his arms, holding her tightly, talking to her. Of course she doesn’t remember it, but the picture she’d been given later had never failed to ease her anxieties.

After a few minutes Sara stood on shaking legs and went to her window. She pressed the very corner of the glass, activating the built in shades, turning them off. The blackened window cleared to reveal the sun was just rising over the horizon. The facility, and her window, faced the rising sun perfectly. Sara watched it for a while, wrapping her arms around herself, letting the memories fade to the back of her mind.

Finally, she got herself moving. She went about her usual morning routine. A long Yoga session always came first, followed by a shower and breakfast. Then she got ready for work, made a quick call to Scott, and was out the door.

She had to leave early, and instead of going right to her office, she went left. She passed over the great bridge that went over the waterfall, and took a moment to appreciate the movement of the water. She continued on, noting the crowds— it was breakfast time, after all, and all those working at their facility were going about their own morning routines. As Sara weaved between people, her Tool beeped with an incoming call. A glance told her it was her mother, calling from Earth.

Sara answered, “Sawubona mama.”

Her mother sounded… off. Bright, but off. “Mtanami, sawubona! I’m so sorry, I meant to call you but we had an eezo leak, we’ve been working around the clock to contain it. I just got home.”

Sara stumbled, but only for a moment. “An…. Eezo leak.” She breathed, mind turning to a previous comment her father had made and— _Oh_. “Okay.” She took a moment and calmed herself, “You’re working too hard, mama.”

“Oh pish, I feel fine.”

Sara reached a clinic, where she was scheduled to meet with her new doctor. Instead she stood next to the door, leaning against the railing, looking into the thick jungle that did not reveal any secrets, or answers. 

“So, how’s Sur’Kesh?” Ellen asked.

“Beautiful. Very humid.”

Ellen hummed, “I remember the first time I visited Sur’Kesh. It wasn’t long after we’d made first contact with the Turians. “

Sara closed her eyes, counted to five, “You’ve told me that story before.”

Her mother hesitated, “… Ah. You’re right, I have.” She cleared her throat, “Well, I hope you enjoy your time there. I’m sure your expertise will be welcomed.”

“Yeah…” Sara paused, and Ellen did too. Neither knew how to broach the topic. Sara, thoroughly annoyed and late for her appointment, decided to bite the bullet, “So… you’re not going to say anything?”

Ellen sighed, “What do you want me to say?”

“I’m stage three now.” Sara snapped, “Some acknowledgment would be nice.”

“I didn’t think you wanted me to talk about our shortening timetables.”

Sara bit her lip, “Being realistic is easier, I suppose.”

“What did your father say?”

Sara groaned inwardly, “When has he ever said anything remotely empathetic?”

Ellen tutted, “You know he cares about us. You’re taking care of yourself, right?”

Sara huffed, feeling like a child, and she did not care for it, “As always.”

“Then we’re not going to burden you with our worries. You have time, sweetheart. Use it.”

Sara clenched her fists, frustrated as anything. “I have to go, mama.” She said, very much not what her mind wanted her to say, “You should rest, okay? Scott and I would like to have you around a while longer.”

“Ah, what’s the fun in bed rest?” She tried to lighten the mood, which was not her strong suit.

“Mama…”

“I know.” She said, softer this time, “I’ll be okay. Have a good day, dear.”

“You too.”

Her mother hung up, and Sara’s hands began to shake. Furious, she raised her arm, intending to chuck her Tool into the jungle. After a moment she let out the longest sigh of her life, letting her arms drop limp to her sides, letting the tension bleed out of her. It wasn’t worth it.

Sara sucked it up, and walked into the clinic for her appointment.

She was met by a Salarian doctor, Yuno Elan, a full time resident of Sur’Kesh. He checked over all her vitals, took blood samples, and asked her a barrage of questions. He was straightforward, honest but kind— Sara liked him already.

“Carlson told me a thing or two about you.” Elan mentioned as he shone a light into Sara’s eyes.

“Good things, I hope.”

“Very good, in fact.” Elan confirmed, “Carlson and I go way back, we studied in Huerta Memorial together.”

“He was kind to me on Luna.” Sara mentioned, wincing when he squeezed a little too hard on one of her arms. He hummed out an apology, writing something down.

“Luna, huh? Can’t say I’m surprised.” He took a step back to look her in the eye, “So, are you experiencing any increased pain?”

He got his clipboard and wrote down her answers, “It’s gotten worse the past few weeks.” She told him.

“Headaches? Fatigue? Loss of appetite?”

“Not more than usual.”

“What are your pain levels at?”

Sara thought for a moment, thinking through a mental checklist she’d memorized long ago, “About a seven, at the moment.”

Elan nodded, wrote a final note, and handed her a bottle of medication. “In that case, I’m going to raise your dosage. Take two of these each morning, on top of your currant dosage. Keep yourself hydrated, and I recommend you visit the gym at least three times a week where work allows.” She set his clipboard down beside her blood samples, “I would also like you to come here for a checkup every other week.”

Sara’s brow furrowed, “That wasn’t necessary before.”

“You have just recently been classified as stage three.” Elan explained, “It will require a more frequent monitoring of your health, but there’s no reason for you to worry too much. We still don’t know enough about GH-1033 so this is purely a precaution.”

Sara looked to the bottle of pills in her hand. More to take, more side effects and more reason for her to feel a little less normal. She let out a breath and held the bottle to her chest, closing her eyes; it was her lifeline, after all. The only thing keeping her alive.

“Alright.”

Elan was silent for a moment. When he moved it was to place his hand on her shoulder. “Ms Ryder, if I may give you a personal note?” Sara looked up to him, and saw there a warm expression filled with hope and kindness, “You’re alright. This won’t impact your life all that much. Just continue on as normal, you’ve got plenty of years left.”

“Yes…” She took a breath, let herself be in the moment, and sighed, “Thank you, Doctor.”

Elan pat her shoulder and stepped back, releasing her for the day, “Good luck with your work. You’ll do us all proud.”

Sara did feel a little lighter as she went in for work, but the weight of her shortening lifespan was a thorn in her side. She stood a moment outside the office door, letting herself calm. She needed to focus on her work. She couldn’t be distracted now.

As the door slid open, she was immediately greeted by a loud and excited voice, “There you are!”

Startled, Sara looked in. Her coworkers were assembled in a circle, looking at her as she entered. “About time.” Lucille said with a smile, “O’Connell is usually the late you.”

He huffed, indignant, “Yeah yeah, rub it in.”

Sara was caught off guard, speechless. There was something different about this space, this office, these people, this job. It was bright, colorful, full of possibilities. It was hope, and laughter, and sunshine. It was everything she had always wanted.

They all greeted her for the day, hellos and smiles. O’Connell said sawubona to her, and the others tried to copy his pronunciation. 

She looked in at these people she could see herself calling friends, and she smiled.

“Sawubona.”


	3. Rhyme

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara settles into life on Sur'Kesh, and finds friends among her coworkers. But will terrible news shatter her peace?

There was an automatic rhythm to the group. A rhyme and reason for everything they did, a routine that Sara so easily fell into.

The Tempest was a massive project, not to mention the smaller scout ships they had to make blueprints of. The smaller ships wouldn’t be difficult, after much deliberation— it was the Tempest that caused such problems. So far all the blueprints they had put forth were rejected, but they kept working. 

Sara fell easily into the group, and loved working with all of them. They were all so intelligent, hardworking individuals. Sara could see her being friends with them all, outside of their work. She found herself smiling constantly.

Soon enough her first week had gone by, and her calendar lit up with a “Gym Day!” graphic. It was her day off, so she went to the facility’s gym for the first time.

It was midday, so no one was there. Thankfully the room was well air-conditioned. Sara moved between the treadmill, the weights, and the pull-up bar. Finally she ended her routine with boxing, her personal favorite. She spent a solid hour boxing, letting her mind wander through the work she had to do. The calculations wouldn’t leave her alone.

She finally stopped, delightfully sore and sweating. As she went to change and shower her mind kept going back to her calculations. She read over them again as she walked back to her apartment— before she could enter the assembly center, the engineering building caught her eye. 

Well, there were no rules about going in on your off hours. Sara sighed and gave in to her own brain, going off to the office, hoping she could concentrate more there. Maybe if she got some extra time in she could stop thinking about it.

Sara read off her datapad as she walked toward the office. With her eyes down she didn’t notice the door opening or the figure walking out until she ran right into them. Sara gasped, her datapad hitting their chest and falling to the floor.

Looking up, Sara’s eyes met the eyes of her coworker, Kallo Jath, who was leaving their office.

“Oh, Sara!” He gasped, “Sorry about that.”

Sara waved him off, “Not your fault, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Kallo glanced down at her fallen datapad, “Trying to solve the speed differentials?”

Sara groaned and Kallo bent down to pick up the datapad, still lying at his feet, “It’s been bothering me all day. I thought I could get more done here.”

Kallo scanned through some of the lines, nodding slowly, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” He handed the datapad back, and she put it away to prevent dropping it again.

“Trying to get ahead of the schedule too?” She asked him.

“Something like that. I was actually about to break for lunch.” Kallo held up a lunch-bag with a wide grin, “It occurs to me we haven’t had a chance to talk off the clock. Want to join me?”

At the mention of lunch, Sara’s stomach helpfully reminded her of how hungry she was. She blushed as it growled loudly, making Kallo chuckle lightly. “Lunch sounds wonderful.”

With a chivalrous wave of his hand, Kallo led Sara back down the hall and to the ground level of the engineering wing. He led her to the back, where large glass doors led out to a private patio. It was large, half covered with grass, the other housing picnic tables. A few people were out there having lunch, and a few others used the grass to soak up some sun during their break, taking in the warmth of the sunlight. Sara and Kallo found an empty table and sat down, pulling out their lunches.

“Now that you mention it, I guess I haven't been talking to anyone in the wing. Too focused on equations and conversions.”

Kallo shrugged, “You’re not the first. O'Connell didn't talk to us for a month outside his desk when he first showed up.” Sara smiled to herself imagining it. He was more of a quiet type. “Figuring out this ship is going to take everything we have, but that doesn’t mean we need to be strangers, does it?”

Sara usually kept people at a distance, kept them strangers. It prevented uncomfortable questions and swirling rumors. But there was something earnest and honest about Kallo, and she couldn’t help but soften. “No, I suppose not.”

Kallo smiled back, “I’ve heard a thing or two. Mind if I ask the burning question?”

And there it was. Sara started mentally retracting all of her assumptions, sighing in defeat. No way out but forward. “Go ahead, get it out of your system.” She told him, thinking up her excuse to leave the patio.

Kallo didn’t seem to notice. He pressed on, “Were you really Tar’Van’s first human student?”

Sara stared at him. Kallo stared back. Inexplicably, incredibly, he seemed to understand exactly what she was thinking— he smiled at her so softly, carefully, waiting for her to process his question.

“Wait.” She said, shaking herself out of her shock, “Wait, wait, wait. That’s your burning question? You and everyone else here didn’t hear about me because of my father’s negligence? I know that’s not true.”

Kallo looked a little sheepish, but it was obvious what he was offering her. A conversation free of judgment. “Well… I know about Tar’Van’s too.”

This was new. New, and startling, but Sara… relaxed. Relief flooded her. Kallo knew, and very pointedly hadn’t asked. “Oh. Well, I— I’m glad someone remembers Tar’Van’s at all. I was the first human, yes.”

Kallo nodded, an affirmation as well as a response. “What brings you from one of the Galaxy’s most elite schools all the way planet-side? I’m sure you had your pick of any project you wanted with that resume.”

“I wish that was the case.” Sara settled in; this conversation would be different. “I was working for the Alliance on Luna base, under an unofficial house arrest. When your own father breaks the law by developing an Artificial Intelligence people get very suspicious. Technically I could leave at any time, but because of the scandal I was getting rejection letters from companies across the galaxy. Then I was contacted by Jien Garson.”

Kallo’s brow raised, “The Initiative mind herself, impressive.”

Sara laughed lightly, “I didn’t even know the Initiative existed until the night she got in contact with me. All I knew was that she was ignoring my family name and asking for a Mathematician. I figured this job couldn’t be any worse than Luna Base. Fresh air, sunlight and waterfalls are hard to beat.”

“And where does “The Dependability of Interspecies Mathematical Conversion” come in? Sorenna seemed pretty excited about you.”

“Oh, that was my dissertation out of college. Simple mathematics are universal these days, but complex equations differ between species. I’m here to, in part, translate complex equations between species. It requires a thorough understanding of various Mathematic branches, necessary for the Tempest. I’ll make sure this process is as simple as possible for the rest of you.”

Kallo seemed impressed, and Sara couldn’t help but preen a little bit, “Well, I certainly wish that was what this galaxy knew of you.”

“Eh, as long as I’ve got a job to do I’m happy enough.” She lifted up her sandwich, “What about you? You got a story?” She asked him, taking a bite.

She watched his eyes glaze over then. It was subtle, almost undetectable, but she saw it there for just a moment as he thought of his answer. “It’s pretty simple. I was born into a life so boring even you couldn’t calculate it.”

“Tragic.”

He laughed lightly, “Indeed.” He took a quick sip of his drink, “My clan tried to put me into a bureaucratic role for Parohe Aerospace, cataloging ships and the like. Lucrative, but it was terribly dull and I wasn’t that great at keeping my mouth shut. I wanted to fly the ships instead of making listings of them all day, so I left the planet and trained as a pilot. Once that was done I became a test pilot for new ships, cutting edge technology. Then the Initiative contacted me about the Tempest project, turns out Parohe was so insistent that the Initiative not recruit my expertise the Initiative took notice. So here I am, back on my homeworld building this ship.”

“Must be nice to be back in your own stomping grounds.”

He shrugged lightly, flicking some crumbs off the table, “I like the planet and my people, but I’ve never been attached to tradition. This project, going all the way to the Andromeda Galaxy? Too intriguing to pass up. It’s so ambitious I had to be a part of it in some small way.”

Sara understood that. She understood that quite well. “Are you joining them? Leaving the Milky Way once this is done?”

“I’ve thought about it, but I’ll probably be retired by the time the Initiative launches. I’m just here for the ship.” A look of wonder passed across his face, awe in his eyes, even then, “We’re participant in a new generation of explorers, I think that’s incredible in its own right. I might not see it, but they’ll have a new start to life.”

His wonder was infectious. Sara grinned, “Well, lets make sure they have the tools they need.” She raised her drink to him, “A toast to new beginnings.”

Kallo was thrilled, and they brought their cups together happily, “To new beginnings.”

—

The days began to bleed together. Weeks passed by quickly— tends to happen when one truly enjoys their work. Sara hadn’t enjoyed her work in a very long time.

And she loved her coworkers. She didn’t know them personally all that well yet, but every day she gained new tidbits of information that grew the picture she had of them. They all got on so well, for the first time in a long time Sara truly wanted to get to know them.

One afternoon, Sara was working at her desk along with everyone else. Sorenna was walking back in from some meeting. She walked behind Sara’s desk and peered over her shoulder for a moment, shaking her head.

“I swear Sara, you work too hard. You should loosen up a little.” She commented, returning to her desk. Sara glanced up at her.

“There’s a lot to do.”

“But you have off hours!” She exclaimed, “Go out there and have some fun. There’s plenty of people in this facility. They don’t even have to be a good conversationalist!”

Sara snorted, focused on her work, “I’m not interested in one night stands.”

“Why not? You have off hours for a reason, why not use them? Show off those brains of yours and sweep someone off their feet for a night, blow off steam together.”

“Eeeish… I’ve had my moments.”

“Moments?” Sorenna asked.

“Mm. Lindsey, Demarco, Thomas, Janet, Kaya. Turns out I’m not all that interested in people in that way.”

Sorenna shrugged, “Okay, fair. Find someone to do crossword puzzles with or something. Anything to pull that stick out of your ass. _Take a break_.”

Kallo laughed out loud, “Sora, you’ve worn your ex’s perfume for years now.”

“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.” Lucille helpfully chimed in. Sorenna blushed horribly, sputtering.

“That’s different!”

Sara grinned up at the Asari, “If you want to pay for the dinner then I’ll consider it.”

Sorenna pouted, “Spoil sport.” The laughter that spread through the office was infectious, and light. So, so light.

—

Sara was at home when the images she had been looking for flashed up onto the screen of her laptop. She cycled through the pictures, images captured when she was a teenager on a trip with her father.

“Are they all there?” Alec asked her over their call.

“Yup.” She confirmed, saving the pictures to her Tool, “Thanks for the pictures, dad.”

“You don’t usually forget these things.” He commented.

“There was too much of a rush to get to Sur’Kesh.” She told him, rubbing her temples. Her day-long headache was getting worse.

“I forgot we took these. We haven’t climbed in a long time.” Alec muttered, referring to the pictures they took while rock climbing in the Himalayas.

“Years now. You could come visit if you wanted, not like you’re doing much right now.”

“Ha-ha, very funny.” Alec snorted, “Sur’Kesh is a bit humid for my tastes.”

“I’m starting to get— get—” Sara stuttered, then stopped. She lost her train of thought in an instant, her headache going from pounding to searing. She groaned, bowing her head, the lights suddenly too bright. To say she was confused was an understatement. “ _Voetsek._ What was I saying?”

Alec was silent for a moment, “I— don’t know, Sara. Are you on your medications?”

“Yeah, of course I am.” Sara replied, the headache beginning to slide back to a manageable pain level.

“Are you really?” He demanded, unsure.

“Dad, I _never_ forget my medications.”

Sara tried to concentrate, but everything was starting to get hazy. Her mind didn’t want to focus on anything, her eyes blurry. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d not had an episode at work. She never would, if she had anything to say about it.

“When’s the last time you ate something?” Alec asked her, quieter this time, more concerned. Sara thought on that and realized something that made her stomach drop. Shit.

“…A day ago. Maybe two, I don’t know.” She admitted, groaning inwardly. No wonder she felt like crap.

“Get some food down, Sara.” He told her, authority bleeding into his voice, “Do I have to make that an order?”

Sara laughed without humor, “Wouldn’t be effective even if you did, but thanks. I’ll go make something.”

“Good.” 

He sounded firm, but she could hear the concern in his voice. Neither of them said anything further— it looked like Alec wanted to, but he didn’t. Not when Sara could barely focus. So instead he tapped his chest twice, at his heart, slow and pronounced. It was the one gesture that never failed to make Sara smile, and she shakily copied the motion for him. He left their call with a little smile of his own, and Sara sat there for a long time just letting herself think, or try to think anyway.

She had to keep herself under control. She knew she needed to do better.

—

After her third week, Sara was settling into a nearly perfect routine. She had even worked in her three days at the gym without too much issue, one heavy workout day and two light days. She loved her work, no question about it.

Sara, predictably, forgot her lunch break quite frequently. Her coworkers hadn’t reminded her at the start, but as time went on they would gently nudge her to take lunch with them, just to remind her to take a break. Sometimes she would go, and sometimes she would stay.

Today she stayed to finish some crucial calculations. By the time she’d finished them she’d forgotten about lunch and had moved on to her next project. It wasn’t until her Tool began beeping that she realized her coworkers were taking a long lunch. Sara answered the call coming in with a smile, knowing who was calling her.

“Sara,” Kallo demanded over comms without so much as a greeting, “get your butt out of that chair and come outside before I drag you out of it. It's an hour past lunch, you work too hard.”

She laughed lightly, pushing away from her desk and stretching out her back, “Fine, fine. I’m coming.”

With an exaggerated ‘harrumph’, Kallo hung up the call, leaving Sara to gather her lunch and head outside. She put on her sunglasses before stepping out into the bright sunlight— few people were out there, most finished with their lunch break. Her coworkers had set up at a bench near the railing, but none of them were sitting there. They were running about on the grass area throwing a frisbee back and forth, getting some energy and movement into their day before several more hours at their desks. Sara went to their bench and ate her lunch, watching them with a fondness she’d not felt in a long time.

After a while Sorenna threw the frisbee into a gust of wind. It carried the frisbee up before it became lodged in a quantum tower, too high for them to reach. They gathered at the bottom of the tower and stared up at the frisbee sadly.

O’Connell sighed, “Nice one, Sora. That was my favorite frisbee.”

“Well I’m sorry,” She whined, “it was the wind’s fault!”

Sara soon moved to join them, looking up to where the frisbee was wedged. “We’re not getting that back, are we?” Lucille muttered a rather rhetorical question.

“What’s the problem?” Sara tilted her head, calculating the distance upward. It was probably four or five stories up. “It’s just a quantum tower, it won’t electrocute you.”

“Climbing up there is against regulation.” Kallo told her, “I don’t think we can—”

Sara waved him off, “Pft. Regulations my ass, watch and learn.” 

Sara took off her sunglasses and tossed them to Sorenna. She then went to the base of the tower and did another quick calculation. Then she grabbed the base, found a firm footing, and started climbing up the side of the tower. 

There wasn’t a ladder, of course Sara didn’t need a ladder. She’d been climbing free solo for years, taught by her father all across the mountains of Earth. A straight metal quantum tower was child’s play in comparison.

She reached the frisbee and anchored herself before dislodging it and throwing it back down to her friends. When she looked at their faces, their jaws were virtually on the floor. She couldn’t help but preen, just a little bit.

“What the hell are you, Spiderwoman?!” O’Connell shouted to her, outraged for no real reason other than show, “Quit showing off!”

Sara laughed loudly, letting herself lean back and feel the wind through her hair for just a moment. It was freeing, if only for a second. “It’s not that hard!” She called back, shaking out the leg she’d anchored herself on. After a quick check of her limbs she began the quick climb back down, pointedly ignoring the concerned gasps whenever a gust of wind made her stop and wait for it to pass.

When she reached the bottom she let herself drop a few feet down to the grass. She rolled her shoulders a few times as she walked back to them, a little unnerved to know that they were still staring at her.

“How— How did you—?” Sorenna stuttered, motioning with her sunglasses.

“It’s all training.” Sara replied, shrugging her shoulders, “My father is an avid rock climber. He insisted we learn to climb without gear, free solo, a pretty hardcore way to condition the mind and body. Almost killed me multiple times but it was completely worth it.”

They blinked at her a few times, processing that information. “Humans are insane.” Kallo declared, shaking his head back and forth.

“Condition the mind and body?” Sorenna shakily repeated— she was honest to god blushing. Sara smirked, more than a little pleased, before taking her sunglasses back from Sorenna and putting them on. She put her hands behind her back, innocently keeping herself leaned in Sorenna’s direction, smirk growing to ‘cat that got the canary’ size. 

“You know something, Sora?” Sara asked cheekily— it was a nice bonus that the Sur’Kesh heat made very short-sleeved shirts a necessity— intending to make Sorenna blush further, “It’s much easier to physically sweep people off their feet.”

With that, Sara straightened up and walked away. She could see her job was done, as Sorenna’s entire face and neck flushed. 

“Wha— Hey!” Sorenna called, running after her, “You’re not leaving without a better explanation than that!” She demanded for no other reason than to hide how flustered she was.

Sara threw her head back and laughed heartily as the rest of the group followed them. No, she hadn’t felt so free in a long time.

—

Lucille finally put her foot down and called for a complete overhaul of the Tempest blueprints. None of them were on the same page anymore, and the Tempest needed a fresh revamp if it was ever going to function as the Initiative needed it to.

“The problem here is what will actually be needed in Andromeda,” Lucille said, leading their meeting as they stood in front of their idea board, “We have no idea what they're going to find in a new galaxy. This ship needs to be ready for absolutely anything.”

Teon was making notes as he talked, nodding his head absently, “The way I see it, they're going to need a tech lab, a bio lab, a research and salvage station,a loadout room, a congregational meeting area, and bridge space. That doesn't include crew necessities; a galley, kitchen, bunks, a restroom. We also need enough space in the cargo bay to hold supplies and a land-vehicle, as well as space for the drive core and forward guns in the event of hostile contact.”

“So how do we fit all of that, coupled with escape pods and the speed the Initiative requires?” Kallo asked aloud. No one answered him, all of them stumped.

Finally it dawned on Sara where the problem laid, “You'll have to remove the guns.” She declared, “Weaponry adds a lot of weight. For the speed they want this ship needs to be light and small. This is a scouting ship, not a military vessel.”

“But in the case of hostile aliens there needs to be defenses.”

Sara hummed in consideration, “I think that's an extremely broad assumption. Either you have guns and a slower ship or no guns and a faster ship, there's no mathematical way around that. The Initiative wants a fast ship so, how do we still properly defend the ship without weaponry?”

And to that question, they had no answer.

Lucille clapped her hands together once, calling a close to the meeting, “We can start drawing this up, at least. Small, streamlined, easily maneuverable. That's our new starting point.”

“That’s better than what we had yesterday.” Kallo nodded firmly, taking some of Teon’s notes as they all returned to their desks.

O’Connell bypassed his desk and went to their miniature kitchen, “Coffee rounds. All interested?”

Everyone wanted a cup, but Sara didn’t say anything. As O’Connell asked a call had started coming through on her Tool, distracting her momentarily.

“Sara?” He asked again, “Coffee?”

“No thanks, can’t stand coffee.” She stood up and moved to the door, looking at her Tool, “I’ll be back in a minute.” She said to Lucille, waiting for some acknowledgment. Lucille waved her out without looking up from her work, so Sara went out into the hallway and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hey Sara.”

Her father. It was her father, calling her in the middle of her work day, sounding haggard. She was immediately on guard; this was highly unusual.

“Dad? Is everything alright or can this wait? I’m at work.”

Alec sighed, “Yes, I know. I’m sorry to call you like this, but…”

Sara waited a moment for him to continue. When he did not, she prompted him gently, “But?” Alec hesitated, sighing again, sounding… heavy. “Are you okay?” Sara asked him, worried now.

“Listen…” He stopped again, cleared his throat, then continued, “Your mother, she’s… we’re losing her.”

And Sara’s world shattered, without a nightmare for her to leave behind come the dawn.


	4. Mortality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellen Ryder passes away. Can the Ryder family grieve her loss? Will Sara find herself in a solitary battle, or will an unexpected hand come from the darkness to pull her back to light?

Sara was on a shuttle headed for Earth, armed only with a haphazardly put-together backpack of necessities and vague information on her mother’s health.

_“I found her unconscious a few weeks ago.”_ Alec had explained as she was throwing together a plan to get back to Earth, _“We expected her to recover but within the last two days her health has rapidly deteriorated.”_

_“So… that means…”_

_“She may have a few more days, but no more. There’s nothing SAM can do for her.”_ He had sounded devastated. Sara never truly knew when it came to him.

_“I don’t give a damn about SAM! What are the doctors doing?”_

_“Making her comfortable. That’s all we can do at this point.”_

So Sara had made her way back to Earth, and after forty eight hours with only a few naps during shuttle rides, Sara had finally made her way to Durban, South Africa, her home for so many of her years.

She still knew the city inside and out, and made her way to the hospital closest to her parent’s home. 

As she approached the hospital she could see her father and Scott talking outside the main doors. Scott and Alec had been about the same build when Scott had left for boot camp, but now Scott was a larger build than Alec was, and slightly taller. Alec was standing like a soldier, as he always was, back straight and tall. Scott was more relaxed, his arms crossed, but it was obvious there was tension between them.

Sara marched right up to them, halting their conversation without a care, “Why didn’t you tell me mama’s health had declined so severely?”

Alec didn’t flinch. He would never _flinch_. But he certainly looked like he wanted to in the face of Sara’s rage. Out of all of them, Sara had always burned the hottest, flames in the face of the cool collectedness of the rest of the Ryder family.

Alec turned to face her head on. Scott wanted to intervene, she could see it, but he didn’t. He knew better.

“Why?!” She demanded, “Why hide that from me?! I could have stayed here, I could have helped you!”

Alec stared her down, eye to eye, “Your mother asked me not to.”

_“Voetsek!”_ She screamed. Alec’s eyelid twitched, as much of a flinch as she would ever get from him, she was sure. “What kind of fucking answer is that?!”

Scott stepped forward, wanting to calm her distress, “Calm down. They didn’t tell me either.”

Alec looked between the two of them; Scott, cool and calm. Sara, hot and enraged. 

“We didn't think this would happen,” He explained, “the doctors told us she'd recover within a few months. She went downhill, it's that simple. I called you both as soon as we learned the truth.”

With a scowl, Sara shook her head and scrubbed at her eyes, walking a few paces away from him. She kept pacing, and Alec backed down.

“Come inside when you’re ready.” He said, before turning on his heel and marching his way back into the hospital.

Scott stayed outside, watching Sara pace back and forth for a short time, calming her emotions. He allowed it for a short time, but when she showed no signs of stopping he stepped into her path, forcing her to stop in her tracks.

The moment she stopped Scott wrapped her into a hug, pulling her to rest against his chest. She was much smaller than he was, and felt safest when she was wrapped up in her brother’s arms. He knew it would calm her enough to think rationally.

“Uxolo.” He whispered to her, “Uxolo, sisi.”

Scott muttered reassurances to her in isiZulu, soft words in a softer tone, slowly pulling her out of her own rage. Damn it, she would not cry. She was not going to cry, not a chance in hell.

“Damn it.” She spoke aloud instead, filled with the emotions she would not allow to flow down her cheeks. Scott heard it, because of course he did.

“This has always been their way.” He said, running his hand through her curls, “Keeping quiet.”

She huffed, “Fuck it. I know. That’s never made it right.”

“I know.”

Sara released some of the tension from her shoulders before she released Scott. He let her pull away, but kept himself close. “I could have stayed here instead of running off to Sur’Kesh if they’d just said something.”

Scott gave her a look, like he knew that she knew that she was being ridiculous. “I doubt they'd have wanted you to pass up such a big opportunity.” He tugged on some of the curls at her temple in the exact way he knew annoyed her, getting her to smile and bat his hand away affectionately. “Besides,” He shrugged, “we probably should have expected mama to work herself straight into a hospital bed. Can you honestly say you're surprised?”

Sara sighed heavily, exaggerating for Scott’s benefit, “No. No, I can’t.” She dipped her head, “Sorry Scotty, I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“It’s alright.” He told her, turning her toward the doors, “Let’s go see mama, okay?”

“Okay.”

And so they walked arm-in-arm into the hospital, double doors sliding closed behind them.

—

The sun was setting over Durban, bathing the city in orange hues. Sara stared out the window and glared at it, as it had the audacity to shine at all right now. If she could have fought the sun she’d have done it, anything to work off these emotions swirling around in her head.

“You’ve got that look about you, mtanami.” Her mother chided gently from her hospital bed, “Thinking about your own mortality. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Sara sighed, “I’m not. You know I'm prepared for the day. Dad and Scott though... they're not. Not for you and not for me.”

Her mother didn’t buy that for a second, and Sara knew it, “It’s okay, sweetheart. You can be sad and still be prepared.”

Sara had no idea where to look, or stand, or how to respond, so she didn’t. She stared out at the painted buildings, heavy shadows casting alleys in all sorts of patterned arrangements. 

“When you learned you’d reached stage three, then headed off to Sur’Kesh, what did your father tell you I was up to?” Ellen asked her carefully, knowing she was stepping on a land mine. Sara finally looked at her in response, a glare that was usually reserved for Alec, not her.

“A conference.” She said. Ellen did not try to hide her guilty conscience. “I knew something was up when you said there was an eezo leak. I’m not daft.” Her mother nodded slowly, putting more of her weight back into the pillows holding her up, “Was either story true, or did you ask dad to lie to me?”

Ellen didn’t answer her. Of course she didn’t. Her mother hadn’t lived an honest day in her life, and they both knew it.

Sara sighed heavily, brushing back her hair, eying a little dent in the wall above her mother’s head, “It’s… it’s okay.” She lied, “You’re tired. I understand.”

“It’s not okay, but I suppose you’ve had to get used to it after all this time.”

Sara snorted and finally came to sit on her mother’s bedside. Finally, Ellen was giving her some honest responses while she waited at death’s door. Perhaps because she had nothing left to lose. “Yeah, I have.”

“There it is,” Ellen carefully smiled, “Honesty suits you.”

_But not you,_ Sara thought privately to herself. _No, it’s never suited you, has it?_

If Ellen caught the train of thought in her mind, she didn’t comment on it. Instead she obviously shifted the attention from her own deathbed. “I know you feel like you’re running out of time.” She said, too gently for Sara’s liking, “But even a little bit of time, no matter how little there is left, is enough. As long as you spend that time doing what you love, with people you love. To live with ubuntu. Death does not take that from either of us.”

Sara sucked in her first trembling breath, a white-knuckle grip on the sheets, “Are you scared, mama?” She asked, suddenly nine years old again asking her mother what it might feel like to die.

“Not at all.” Ellen replied, for once completely honest, “I’m ready to go. To join the ancestors is an honor.”

Sara did not do more than tremble as the tears began to fall. Ellen, pointedly, did not pay any mind to their presence.

“Don't be scared, Sara. Live every moment to the fullest, and don't ever waste your time. Use everything you have before it's too late. You don't have to justify your existence to anyone.”

And that was that. Sara knew it was all she would get out of her mother, and the reality of the situation finally crashed down on her. She bent forward and she sobbed into her hands, grieving for what was and what was gone. Ellen gave her that moment, silent and reverent, as Sara knew she would.

After all, they all had their own has been’s to grieve.

—

Sara finally stepped out of Ellen’s room not long after the sun’s light had left their horizon. Scott looked her over, but Sara waved him in without a word. So he walked inside and shut the door, while Sara took a seat next to her father on the cold benches in the hallway nearby.

There was a tense silence between them, a livewire ready to explode. Sara didn’t care about tripping it anymore. She didn’t have the energy left to grieve for its loss.

“I thought SAM was supposed to save her.” She said, ever direct. Alec merely hung his head. She wouldn’t look at his face. “That's why you made him. To stabilize her systems, to boost her immunity. That's why you convinced her to put SAM's implant inside her head. That's why you threw away your life's work to ensure he existed.” Finally, Sara felt confident enough to look her father’s grief in the eye. She turned her head and stared him down, watching him crumple in a way she’d never witnessed before. “Isn’t that right?”

“We weren’t fast enough.” He said simply, a man torn open for only his daughter to see.

“No.” She replied with steel she was not commonly known for, “You were never going to be. Everybody dies eventually. We'll grieve, it'll hurt, but we'll move on. That's what she wants, especially from you.”

Alec shook his head, hair falling into his eyes, “SAM could have saved her if we'd just... been faster. Worked harder.”

Sara shrugged, but he didn’t see it, “Maybe, for a little while. But not forever. Nothing lasts forever.” She clenched her fists, “You can’t save us.”

Alec put his head in his hands, bowing forward so far Sara thought he might topple off his chair, “Anther day, Sara. Okay? Another day.”

Sara couldn’t fault him for that, no matter how much she wanted to. So she placed her hand on his back, and allowed him his moment of grief.

—

Ellen Ryder died the following day at 2:43 PM in the afternoon. Sara had never seen her father cry before. She doubted she’d ever see it again.

There was a whirlwind of condolences and a rushed funeral planned by Ellen’s friends. Sara and Scott only managed to stay briefly before the grief overwhelmed them. Alec stayed only slightly longer before he too was overcome by his wife’s death.

Soon Scott and Sara found themselves at their childhood home, holed up in Sara’s old room. The moment they had entered Sara had lit some incense, setting it on the open windowsill in their mother’s honor. 

Sara was sitting at her old vanity while Scott stood behind her, his fingers working magic through her hair. It had been a long time since he’d braided Sara’s hair, but his fingers still remembered the intricate patterns Sara had always loved. The action was calming for them both, an easy way to relax.

“I don’t know if I should feel sad that she’s gone or relieved that she’s not in pain anymore.” Sara muttered, half asleep from Scott’s hands in her hair, massaging her scalp.

“I’ve got both swirling around in my head.” He finished a braid and started on the next, gently parting out the hair he needed to work with. “I keep thinking about dad… god, he loved her so much. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so in love with another person…”

“Ever think about how things could have been different?”

Scott’s hands paused in her hair, just for a moment, “All the time. Still do.” He applied some extensions and a pin, “I applied for another transfer last week, actually.”

“Did you get an answer?”

“My request was denied. The family name strikes again. They plan to keep me at the most remote relay in Alliance space.”

Sara sighed, jostling his work for a moment, “I’m so sorry, Scott.”

He tugged a little too hard, lost in thought. She pat his hand, and he mumbled out an apology, “If I can prove myself more, make my own name maybe this will stop but... who knows.”

Sara smiled at him through the mirror, “If we ever need an armed guard you’ll be my first call.”

He looked so defeated, so exhausted, but still he smiled for her.

“You leaving tomorrow?” He asked in lieu of further exhausting topics.

“I have to. That’s work for you.”

“Me too.”

Scott finally finished with her hair, stepping back to look over his handiwork. Her hair was done up in elegant braids across her scalp, leading to a tight yet puffy bun behind her head, kept off of her neck. Sara took a moment to admire it before turning around to face her brother, a grateful smile on her lips.

“Think dad will be alright here by himself?” She asked. 

“Dad’s tough, I think he’ll be okay.”

Sara stood up and wrapped him up in a hug, ear resting over his heart. He held her just as tightly.

“And you?” She asked him carefully.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” He told her, running his fingertips across the braids he’d created.

“Mama would want us to carry on.”

Scott squeezed her tightly, as he always did when they parted ways, a special kind of hug, “Yeah, she would. Of course she would.”

—

It was night on Sur’Kesh when Sara finally arrived back at her apartment, completely exhausted in every way. Yet even though she was exhausted, she couldn’t sleep. When she closed her eyes nightmares threatened her behind her eyelids. Frustrated and spent, she got up and pulled out a beaded necklace she’d been working on slowly over the last few months, a project kept to the late-night hours when she needed the distraction. It worked for a short time, her fingers working over the beads as her grandmother had once taught her, but even that did not distract her for long.

Finally, with a firm understanding that she would not be sleeping, she left her apartment to get some air. Night on Sur’Kesh was a near perfect temperature, not too hot and not too cold. Sara walked aimlessly, unaware of where she was until she looked up and saw that she had walked all the way to her office.

She entered and turned on a dim light. No one was in, of course they weren’t, but Sara did see something new; a potted flower sat on her desk. It was a flower she had never seen before, a deep red color with wide leaves, no doubt left there for her by her friends. Sara smiled to herself at the gesture, keeping a mental note to give it some water when she went back home. She moved it to the corner of her desk and sat down, opening up her laptop to get back to the calculations she’d left behind.

She worked for a while, losing track of herself and the time as the night wore on. Eventually, not knowing how long she’d been there, a hand waving in front of her face brought her out of her concentration. She didn’t even have the energy to jump in surprise, she merely blinked at the offending hand before following its arm up to the face of its owner.

It was Kallo, standing in front of her desk with a concerned look on his face. She hadn’t even heard the door open.

“Kallo?” She asked, her voice rough from exhaustion, “It’s the middle of the night, what are you doing here?”

Kallo’s brow arched up, “Me? You’re the one sitting here doing calculations.”

“I…” She sighed, pushing her laptop away from her, “Yeah.” She leaned back in her chair, no doubt looking a mess, but Kallo was gracious enough not to comment on it. “I assumed you’d all heard. I have you guys to thank for the flowers?”

Kallo nodded, glancing to the pot, “We wanted to do something.”

“They’re lovely, my favorite color and everything. Thank you.”

Kallo smiled for her briefly, but his concern quickly won out— a worried frown settled itself as he studied her face.

“I’m sure you’re not alright, but what are you doing here?” He asked her. Sara’s lips tightened into a thin line, just for a moment, but she could see that he’d caught it.

“I couldn’t sleep.” She told him casually, shrugging, “It’s fine though, figured I could get some work done instead. I need to catch up somehow.”

“You seem tired.” He noted, almost absently.

“Yeah, but— I’m fine.”

Kallo took a moment to take in the look on her face, the soul-crushing exhaustion that she didn’t bother trying to hide. Finally he set his shoulders, coming to a decision.

“Well, I know this great brew of tea. Originated on Thessia, learned it from some old Asari colleagues. Even helps Salarians sleep. Would that help?”

“This late?” She asked him, flabbergasted, “I wouldn’t want you to lose your sleep.”

He smiled for her, gentle and unassuming, “Salarians only sleep for an hour a day, I’m wide awake. I came in to add to our blueprints, but you look like you need a friend more.”

“I…” She sat there a moment, stunned. There was nothing but care and concern in his features, something soft that almost reminded her of Scott’s unwavering empathy. Finally she let herself relax, “Yes. That would help a lot.” She told him, much to his obvious delight.

Kallo walked her back to her apartment before dashing to his own to get his tea. When he returned he went straight to her kitchen while she finished her calculations on the couch. He checked on her a couple time, frowning as she kept working.

“You know you can leave those for tomorrow, right?” He asked her as the water warmed, “You should focus on relaxing.”

Sara glanced up at him, “I’m alright. I’d rather get this done while I’m thinking about it.”

Despite his worry he laughed, very lightly, “Remember that time I said you worked too hard?”

“As I recall, Sorenna said it first.”

“Doesn’t make it any less true.”

She snorted, “I started young and I don’t plan to stop.”

Kallo couldn’t fight the fondness that shone through on his face, so instead he went back to making tea. By the time he was done Sara had finished her calculations, setting them aside and going over to the table to join him. He set down two mugs, tea for Sara and a different herbal blend, something that wouldn’t make him sleepy, for himself.

Before sitting down Sara took the flower into the kitchen and gave it some water. As she was setting it in the alcove window between the living space and the kitchen, she noticed Kallo had gone to her dresser to look over the pictures she had displayed there.

“This is you, isn’t it?”

She looked at the picture he was indicating, her and her brother dancing, and smiled lightly at the memory. The picture turned into a vid when Kallo touched the frame, and he was mesmerized by the steps as they danced.

“Yeah, me and my twin. Dancing is our favorite hobby.”

“I can tell he’s your twin. You’re both amazing.”

Sara stumbled a little on her way to the table out of nothing but shock. She quickly steadied herself before Kallo could look back at her, coughing to clear her throat, sitting down to stabilize herself.

“Thank you.” Kallo joined her at the table, holding the mug in his hands, as if soaking in its warmth. “I just wish it had been worth a damn.”

“What do you mean? I could never do anything like that.”

“Sure you could, it just takes practice and hard work.”

Sara took a sip of the tea Kallo had made and found it was delicious. She hummed in approval, and noticed Kallo shift in his chair, pleased that she liked it.

“I always loved dancing,” She told him carefully, “but when I turned fifteen I had to make a choice— my studies intensified and I didn’t have time for classes anymore. Didn’t have time for… anything anymore, beyond my school work. I became a repository of all those hopes and dreams…” She let out a dry laugh, shaking her head without humor, “Imagine that, spending your entire life being told you had no choice but to be a legacy. Good for me, I have four degrees and plenty of ability. It cost me a lot of years, a lot of time I could have spent being a person instead of a bragging right. A lot of years I could have spent with my mother.”

She hadn’t quite mourned that part of Ellen’s loss. She wasn’t sure she wanted to. She wasn’t sure she could.

Kallo nodded his head slowly, something reverent in his features, “I don’t have to imagine. Feels like you’re more of a trophy than a person.”

Sara’s eyes snapped up to him, surprise in her features, “Right. That’s exactly how It feels. But I—” She huffed out an irritated sigh, her mind so tired it couldn’t get out the words she wanted, “But I also agreed to it all. I made my bed and, like it or not, I’ll lie in it. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished but it’s hard to see it as being worth it now that she’s gone.” She looked to the picture of Scott on her dresser, “Scott had the right idea. He took his own path and never looked back. He hasn’t found his way yet but at least he had the strength to say no. Sometimes I wish I could follow him, go out there and be a dance instructor, maybe work with kids.”

“Then why don’t you?” Kallo asked.

“It’s selfish.”

“Selfish?”

“When you can do the things that I can do…” She looked him in the eye, “I have a responsibility to use my mind for the benefit of others. I want to. Besides… My father is this great N7 war hero and visionary who created a literal Artificial Intelligence, my mother was a scientific genius who pioneered biotics for humanity, they were— _are_ — legends, and I’m their daughter. I thought I had to follow them. I had to be better. And maybe… I don’t know, I never had a solid place in life. Eventually I lost my way. I thought I’d be able to find it, but...”

She wasn’t sure how to voice it, the nagging anxiety she tried to ignore. Kallo seemed to notice. He seemed to notice a lot, where she was concerned.

“Any luck?” He asked her gently, so gently.

“I don’t know yet.” She told him honestly, “But Jien was so adamant, so confident, I— I believed in this project.”

“I get it.” Kallo told her, leaning forward to appear more open to her, “Being told you have to carry on the family name, it’s— daunting. I chose not to, I have so many brothers and cousins and uncles they don’t need me around. Probably don’t want me around at this point anyway. I suppose you never had the option to just disappear.”

“You have a big family?” She asked, grateful for the out he’d given her, a chance to change the subject.

“Of course. Over a hundred brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles.”

“You’re kidding.”

He laughed, “Oh, that’s not even the half of it. I’ve got well over six hundred members in my clan.”

“How do you remember them all?”

“It’s part of being Salarian. We have photographic memories, we can always remember the names and faces of our clans, of people we meet. Apparently, mine is unusually sharp. I can see the faces of my clan in as clear focus as I see yours right now.”

Sara was fascinated, “Doesn’t that get… I don’t know, impersonal?”

“Not at all.” He replied, like he’d had this conversation many times before. She guessed that he probably had. “I remember everyone I ever worked with, my clan, people I connect to. I’m always there, always involved. I can go back whenever I want.” Then the strangest thing happen— his eyes lost their focus on her face, moving to a spot over her shoulder. His eyes glazed over, and suddenly she had the distinct feeling that he wasn’t really ‘there’ anymore. “I’ll always remember the work we put into the Tempest, and everything I do after it’s completed. Good days, bad days, smiles, laughter, sadness, the jokes and camaraderie. I think the saying goes ‘People aren’t dead while someone still remembers them’? That goes for projects, places, feelings.”

When Kallo broke from his thoughts and turned his attention back to Sara, it was as if everything had stopped. Sara was… smiling. It was easily the softest smile he had ever seen from anyone. It made her face glow, and inexplicably, he felt the urge to hold his breath.

“You’re lucky.” She told him, somewhere faraway, “Humans… forget.”

Something about the way she spoke shook him, and he released the breath he hadn’t planned to hold. He took a moment to take stock of himself before catching her gaze again, finding he quite liked looking her in the eye.

“Not lightly, it seems.”

“Depends on the human. And the burdens we carry. Some things outweigh us all. I suppose this week has just been one more to add to the list.”

Kallo wasn’t entirely sure how to help her. How does one mend a broken heart? He’d never had to find out. But he was determined to do his best, in whatever way he could.

“I… don’t know if you believe in such things, but we Salarians have a popular belief in the Wheel of Life.” He explained, “Something like reincarnation for you humans. Lives don’t really end, they continue on in a new life, a new body. Some see it as a chance to continue the work of a previous life in their next life. That might not be helpful, but I thought it might make the pain a little more bearable.”

Sara tapped the side of her mug with her forefingers absently, mulling over his words. “Is that something you believe in?” She asked.

He had to think on that for a moment, but he easily remembered how he once felt about the concept, “Yes. With only forty years to our name it’s comforting to think that this life isn’t our last. If nothing else it helps quiet the little creeping fears at night.”

“It’s… definitely something to consider.” She muttered, taking another gulp of her tea. She’d almost drained the mug. “I don’t really have much family anymore, but my mother’s side is descended from amaZulu.”

Kallo blinked, “I— don’t think that translates.” 

She hummed absently, “Yes, I know. Galactic translators aren't programmed for most of Earth's ancient languages. ‘AmaZulu’ is how we refer to ourselves, the Zulu people.”

“Is that where ‘Sawubona’ comes from?”

Sara was amused, a small accomplishment, “Yes. It’s just a greeting, though.”

“How was my pronunciation?”

She laughed, “Pretty decent. Too nasally, but decent.”

“You must have learned a lot from your mother.”

“Well, mama taught Scott and I isiZulu— that’s our language— and our grandmother taught us about Zulu traditions, things passed down to her through the generations. Those cultural lessons meant a lot to me growing up. We lived on the Citadel for fourteen years before moving to Earth, it was nice to have that connection to my ancestors.” Sara seemed to brighten as she talked about her heritage, like a flower blooming. “Mama usually put her faith in science over religion, but she found great inspiration in the belief of ubuntu. It means to show respect, generosity, and compassion in all aspects of your life to everyone you come into contact with. It says we are only our true and complete selves when we treat others as we wish to be treated, it binds us as a community of people who all work as one. Tradition says that if one follows ubuntu they live on after death as an ancestral spirit. I can hope she lives with the ancestors but… I’m not so sure. She was so focused on her work, I think your Wheel makes more sense for her. If she could be reborn to learn more of the universe I’m confident she would.”

It seemed a natural conclusion to their night. Sara yawned into her hand, the bags under her eyes more defined. Kallo noted that she had drained her mug of tea.

“Get yourself to bed.” He said, patting her hand, “The tea will kick in any minute. Don’t worry about coming in on time tomorrow, I’ll explain everything to Lucille.”

Sara stared at him for a moment, as if she had not expected him to offer that small mercy, “Maybe leave out the "can't sleep" part? I don't want to worry anyone.”

“Of course.” He promised.

“Okay.” She replied through another yawn. Kallo stood and took their mugs back to her sink, quickly cleaning and drying them for her while she went to the bathroom. When she emerged he went to show himself out, but was stopped by her voice, “Kallo?” He turned back to her, “Thanks. For talking I mean, I needed this.”

And so he smiled for her, for his friend, “Anytime, Sara.”

He left her apartment and went back to the office to add to their blueprints, feeling rather accomplished indeed.

—

Sara woke late into the afternoon the next day, feeling better than she’d felt in a long time. With a lazy stretch she pulled herself out of bed, took in the sun and let herself have a large breakfast. 

She thought back on what she’d told Kallo about her home, her life. She thought about her mother, and her grandmother. She missed them both, but there was a certain peace that came over her knowing they had both gone peacefully.

Sara went to her bed and pulled out a box from underneath. When she opened it several tiers of of drawers and shelves pulled out from the box, something of a display case. Each tier displayed a multitude of beaded necklaces, bracelets, headpieces, and other pieces of jewelry made by members of her family and passed on to Sara over time. She hadn’t worn any of them in a very long time, per Alliance regulations, but here… here she could. Here she could wear them, as her mother and grandmother and great-grandmother had. They reminded her of so many happy days.

It had been a long time since she’d worn them, or thought about them. For a long time she didn’t want to think about them at all, wasn’t ready to think about those days even when they made her happy. But perhaps now she was ready.

—

Sara hadn’t gone into work that day. She allowed herself, at last, some time to stabilize herself and her emotions. The following day she felt ready to go back to work, choosing one of her great-grandmother’s beaded necklaces to wear. Just putting it on made her smile.

She left a little early, and took some time outside the engineering wing to look out over the valley, leaning into the railing and soaking in the sun. She took a deep breath and felt the wind on her face, and felt more at peace than she had in years.

“Feeling better?” A voice to her right asked. Kallo was approaching her with a wide grin on his face, joining her at the railing.

“Surprisingly… yes.” She told him, “I miss her, but I wasn’t much closer to my mother than I was to my father. Both of them were so distant it was difficult to connect to them. I’ve spent years of my life preparing myself for this.”

“Was she sick for a long time?”

“Yeah. Yeah. She was exposed to too much Element Zero while pioneering biotics for human use, back when we didn’t really understand what biotics could do or how to protect ourselves from its effects. It was really painful for her. I’m… honestly more relieved than I am sad.” She hummed distractedly as a thought she’d not previously had came to the forefront of her mind, “I wonder if that makes me cold…”

“Of course not,” Kallo reassured her, a hand placed delicately on her back, “We all deal with loss in our own ways.”

They let silence fall between them, content in the moment. Kallo kept his hand on her back, grounding Sara to the present. She found it amazing that he’d figured out exactly what she had needed.

“Your hair’s different.” He commented after a while. When she turned he was studying the braids Scott had created for her, looking like— she laughed, catching him off guard.

“Alright, you did help me out.” She joked, turning the back of her head toward him, “You can touch them.”

She was sure Kallo was flustered judging by the noise of protest he made, but when Sara didn’t move he carefully brought the tips of his fingers up to run down a few of her braids. He did this twice before letting his hand drop again.

“You like it?” She asked, “Scott did up my hair before I left. I always liked his designs best.”

“It’s beautiful.” He admitted softly, “But it was strange, when I walked into the office the other night. You’re usually… you know, poofy.”

“Poofy!” She cried, faking outrage, and he knew it.

“Fluffy, maybe?”

“You’re lucky I like you, Kal.”

His brow furrowed then, head tilting, “Kal?” He asked in a strange tone. It sobered Sara from her teasing, looking at him seriously.

“You don’t like it?” She asked him nervously, “I won’t call you that if—”

“No, it’s—” He hesitated, “It’s nice. I like it.” He bit at his lip, thinking it over, “My brothers never bothered to give me a nickname.”

“Really?”

He shrugged, “Well ‘Jath’ isn’t an easy name to make a nickname out of, I suppose.” An easy lie he probably told himself many times over.

“That’s your given name?” She asked him.

“Yes. Clan Kallo, given name Jath.”

She watched his expressions as he gave her that brief explanation, and saw there deep discomfort whenever his given name was used. She turned to face him fully, “You prefer Kallo. That’s what you’ve been called, all this time. Right?”

He watched her a moment, brows drawn tight “Yes…” He said it quietly, unsure of where she was going.

“Then your name’s Kallo.” She said firmly, decisively, with no room for argument, “That’s all I need to know.”

The shock on his face almost floored her, but Sara stood there strong and unmoving. And perhaps it was that confidence that calmed him, and Sara gave him those precious moments to gather himself.

Finally he cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, “Come on,” He said, “we’ll be late for work.”

With a grin, Sara fell into step beside him. She nudged him with her shoulder playfully as they walked, “Hey Kal?” She asked him, “Think you could teach me how to make tea?”

“Yeah.” He replied, shoving her back, “I think I can manage that.”


	5. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Kallo find themselves on the Citadel during a catastrophe that would change everything-- especially themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frontier will be updated every Sunday. Enjoy this chapter! I have updated the tags. Warnings for graphic violence, gore and death.

It was a bustling afternoon as Sara and Kallo walked through a lower ward of the Citadel. People walked about everywhere, getting on with their days, while children played off to the side as their parent’s ran their errands.

The pair was making their way toward a docking bay to catch a shuttle back to Sur’Kesh. Kallo insisted on carrying the bag of supplies they’d picked up, and both pleasantly enjoyed the other’s company.

“Thanks for coming with me.” Sara told him for the third time, “You didn’t need to.”

“It’s not like we’re crunched for time.” He replied for the third time. He would say it as many times as Sara needed until the guilt passed.

“Obtaining my mother's death certificate for Citadel records isn't a great way to spend a day.” She muttered, for the first time. The first time she really acknowledged what she’d had to do that day. After nothing but long lines and hoops to jump through, she just wanted to go back home.

“I don’t mind.” He said honestly, “We got our shopping done too, it’s been a productive day.”

Another out, how did he know she needed it? Sara took the out with an ease that was becoming natural between them.

“Is there anything else we need while we're in the realm of decent commerce?”

Kallo glanced briefly into their shopping bag, “Nope. If we take any longer Sorenna will throw a fit.” He turned a little to smirk at her, using a passing group as an excuse to move closer to her and playfully bump her shoulder, “Don’t think I didn’t catch that Sur’Kesh dis.”

Sara huffed, “It was a dis and a fact.”

“Our market is great for a small facility.”

A short scream caught Sara’s attention momentarily. She looked over to an alley, where she could see a group of children playing kickball, screaming and laughing and having fun.

“Hey, I wouldn’t complain if your STG would actually give us access to some of their tech, but they won’t, so we have to venture to the Citadel and Omega to get what we need. I’ll dis Sur’Kesh all I want.”

Kallo bit back a laugh, “You're just mad because Luci yelled at you for starting too many bar fights.”

She glanced at him, “You brought me along to be the muscle, what else was I supposed to do? Let them cheat us out of our funds?”

“You could try having a little finesse for once.”

Sara growled a little at their most recent run in with Omega dealers, “They called Teon a suit rat. Finesse stops me from putting my fist into their face, I don’t like that.”

“One of you idiots starting fights is more than enough. You and Teon together are a destructive combo.”

“And here I thought I was growing on you.”

“I need more data.”

Sara gasped and raised a hand to her chest, offended. Kallo simply threw his head back and laughed.

As they neared their docking bay, Sara noticed something strange out of the corner of her eye. There was an Avina holo off to the side for people to use to navigate the Citadel; usually she spoke lightly to those who passed and gave out news alerts, but now she was strangely silent. As Sara watched her holo glitched, almost completely disappearing before reappearing. She wasn’t even the right color.

But that wasn’t cause for alarm, she was a piece of tech after all, and there’s always glitches. She didn’t mention it to Kallo as they continued on. He hadn’t noticed at all.

She had that thought for about six seconds. Then, the ward beneath them began to shake. It was a gentle tremor, but distinct nonetheless, making people stop in the tracks. Sara and Kallo stopped and looked around, though nothing seemed actively out of place. The holographic sky above them was still the same blue, the ward was intact save for a few minor cracks. But the shaking did not stop.

It was swiftly followed by loud banging sounds, which reverberated all through the ward. Kallo and Sara’s eyes snapped to one another, something familiar in the sound that they both recognized.

“That sounds like explosions.” Kallo said aloud.

“Yeah.”

No sooner than she said it they felt a sharp jolt, followed by violent tremors. It knocked Sara off her feet, and she’d have fallen if Kallo hadn’t grabbed her arm and pulled her in. People screamed throughout the ward, glass broke and metal bent with a horrid squealing sound. They clung to one another until the shaking died down.

Suddenly, Avina’s holo began to make an announcement so loud it could be heard in every corner of the ward, **“AN EVACUATION ORDER HAS BEEN ISSUED. PLEASE PROCEED TO YOUR NEAREST EVACUATION CENTER.”**

Waves of people began making their way to the evacuation center, which was the nearby docking bay. Sara and Kallo joined the throngs of people that streamed out of buildings and smaller walkways. The people were calm, for the most part, though they muttered to one another nervously about what was happening.

“I was born here,” Sara said, “I have never seen an evacuation order issued.”

Kallo was as nervous as she was, “An accident somewhere on the ward, maybe?”

“But why would they evacuate people? This is— unprecedented.” 

They continued on, nearing the docking bay. The shaking was bad, and a few people stumbled, but they were helped up and supported as the waves kept walking.

Suddenly, the line stopped. People looked up and pointed, some began to scream. Kallo and Sara looked up and saw what they saw; the artificial holographic sky flickered, then disappeared, revealing the rest of the Citadel and the space beyond.

There was a massive battle ongoing between the arms of the Citadel. The Galactic Fleet was fighting ships neither Sara or Kallo had ever seen before. Canon fire and debris slammed into the various wards, causing the tremors and the explosions of fire. It was a nightmare.

All at once, everyone began to panic. They all lurched forward, running for their lives toward the docking bay. An Asari knocked Kallo over, but Sara grabbed him and hauled him back to his feet before he could get trampled. She then grabbed his hand and propelled them forward toward the docking bay.

The hesitation placed them near the back of the mass of people all heading for the docking bay. There was a bit more room to maneuver, but as they ran they passed a few people who had been trampled by the masses. They tried not to look at the bodies. Kallo looked up at the battle, allowing Sara to lead them forward. That was when he saw it— half of a Galactic ship floating toward them at high speed.

He tugged on Sara’s hand and pulled them to a sliding stop, “We won’t make it!” He shouted, pulling her to follow him. Thankfully she did, no questions asked, as he led them away from the docking bay and deeper into the ward. Sara looked back and saw the ship coming toward them, gasping in fear.

When the ship was very close, they found a stairwell covered by buildings and cowered behind it. They had just enough time to huddle down and cover their ears before a massive explosion rocked the ward. They could feel the heat and the shockwaves, debris flying everywhere, buildings collapsing all around them. Kallo yelped and curled in on himself, and Sara threw herself partially on top of him. They pushed down as close to the floor as possible. It seemed like an eternity before the shaking and explosions ceased.

When debris stopped falling around them, Sara slowly uncurled from Kallo and sat up. She could see a lot of the buildings around them were heavily damaged, but still standing. The stairwell was mercifully intact— it was likely the only reason they were alive. It was damaged as debris had flown all around them, and both of them were covered in soot, but they were alive.

Sara tried to help Kallo sit up, but he groaned in pain. He was slow to uncurl, breaths stuttering as he held his arm. Blood was flowing from between his fingers. Her hands fluttered over his shoulders, “Kallo? Let me see.”

She sucked in a sharp breath when he removed his hand from his arm. A piece of shrapnel had torn through the side of his right arm. It had gone through the side, but mercifully he could move the arm— his bones and muscles were mostly intact.

He grimaced as the blood flowed heavily, “ _Shakni_ , that _hurt_.” He ground out between clenched teeth.

“Okay, uhm—” Sara stuttered, trying to think through her adrenaline; she knew nothing about treating wounds. She pat down her pockets looking for anything useful, but she had nothing on her, “Just breathe Kal, we’re alright.” She told him, hoping to calm him. She needn’t have bothered, Kallo was calm, if not in pain.

“Your sleeve.” He said to her, “Tear off one of your sleeves.”

Sara didn’t question him. She tore off the left sleeve of her long sleeve shirt and tied it tightly around Kallo’s wound. It was all they could do.

“Thanks.” He smiled shakily, adrenaline pumping through both of them.

“Thanks to you, too.” She replied, pulling them both out from behind the stairwell. “We need to get to the— the…” They stopped dead in their tracks, and they _stared, “Oh god…”_

While the buildings around them may have survived, most did not. They looked out over a sea of flattened buildings, fires and twisted metal, with a ship lodged almost vertically into the ward itself. Everything around it was gone, including the docking bay with all the people. Sara and Kallo had somehow managed to find themselves at the very edge of the explosion. 

“It’s gone.” Kallo whispered hoarsely, disbelieving, “What now?”

Staying in the ward would not be wise, Sara thought. They could see the battle still raged across the Citadel, and more debris could hit at any time. She didn’t know where to go, but she knew someone who did, and she knew she had to contact him. 

“Damn it.” She muttered, catching Kallo’s attention. She raised her Tool and typed in a code her father had ensured she memorized, “SAM? I require an emergency response.”

Immediately, SAM appeared above her Tool. He was simpler through the Tool than he was in person— here, he was a small ball of energy representing his form, floating serenely above Sara’s wrist.

“Hello Sara.” He spoke; Sara hadn’t heard his voice in a long time, “How can I be of assistance?” He asked.

“We're stuck in the Citadel and the evacuation point has been destroyed.” She explained, “I need an alternate route.”

“Plotting.”

Kallo watched the exchange with fascination, “What is—?” He began, but Sara’s pained expression made him stop.

“Later.” She promised.

“Warning, the Citadel is currently under enemy attack.” SAM declared.

“We noticed. Plot a course.”

“Please wait, systems are scrambled.”

Sara let out an irritated breath, “Hurry SAM, this is—”

She was stopped by a crash of metal nearby. Both of them jumped at the noise. What followed was a series of mutterings that were distinctly organic beside a partially destroyed building.

They followed the noises to an air vent at the bottom of the building. They both crouched to peer inside, Kallo activating his Tool for a light. Inside the vent was a group of children of various races— Sara recognized a few as the ones who had been playing kickball in the alley. They must have taken cover in the vents, unable to find their parents.

“Oh,” Sara breathed, holding out a hand to them, “it’s okay now, everything’s okay. Come on out, all of you.”

Slowly the children emerged, one at a time, bruised and terrified, but alive. A few of the children were injured; the most seriously wounded was a human girl with fire-red hair who was bleeding very badly and was unable to walk. There were ten children in all made up of Humans, Salarians, Turians and Asari.

Kallo tended to the children as Sara walked away to speak with SAM without them listening. “SAM, we need a route out of here now, a way to get these children out.”

“I cannot currently detect an exit that is not blocked by fire or debris.” SAM replied, “Hostiles are nearby, I recommend hiding until they pass.”

Sara stiffened, a reaction she’d never had before. The words her father had drilled into her head came rushing back to her, every way he taught her to fight back. Usually she was the instigator, but this was new.

“Hostiles?” She hissed, “What kind of hostiles?”

“Unknown. C-Sec has only reported sightings. The Citadel has been boarded.” Sara looked back to the children that were suddenly in their care, “The apartments nearby are relatively intact. They would offer you the best protection.”

Sara took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and walked back to the group as calmly as she could.

“We need to go _right now_.” She told him, gathering up an injured Turian child. Kallo didn’t argue with her, picking up the red-headed girl. “Come on children, follow me.”

The children formed a line behind Sara, helping one another over debris until they reached a nearby apartment complex. They walked in through a partially destroyed doorway. Most of the apartments were shut and locked, some were destroyed, but eventually they found one with an open door. Sara led them inside and placed the children against the wall, huddled together for comfort. Upon looking around, Sara could see that aside from the broken windows, the apartment was mostly intact.

When the children were settled Kallo pulled Sara aside, out of their earshot. “What’s happening?” He asked her, more than a little concerned.

Sara turned away from the children and whispered, “There's hostiles on the Citadel. We need to keep these children hidden.”

Kallo’s eye widened, “What do you mean ‘hostiles’?”

“I have no idea. We’re just going to stay here for safety.”

Kallo took his own calming breath and nodded, “Alright. I’m going to look for a medical kit.”

Kallo started scouring the apartment while Sara went to calm the children down. Most of them were stable, but the red-haired girl and a Turian child were not doing well at all. She hoped there was some medical supplies they could use. If not, she could tell that those two would not make it.

It was then that Sara started hearing heavy footsteps stomping their way down the hall. Someone on the floor above them screamed, and she could hear strange computerized noises not far away. The children cowered and whimpered, but she quietly shushed them.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” She promised them, “Stay here.”

Sara moved to the doorway and crouched low, peeking out of the doorway. She stuck out her hand enough for SAM to see down the hall as well. Just as she looked out, a metal creature was walking into another apartment. Someone within was screaming bloody murder.

“What is that thing?” She asked SAM. Kallo came up to the wall next to her, out of sight of the hallway but close enough to listen in.

“A Geth trooper.” SAM reported.

“Geth?”

“Synthetic AI created by the Quarians centuries ago.”

“Geth don’t usually leave the outer rim.” Kallo muttered, “What are they doing on the Citadel?”

“Unknown.”

Suddenly, they heard gunfire from the apartment. Sara ducked back inside as the Geth emerged back into the hallway.

“They know we’re here?” Sara asked him, voice trembling.

“Yes. Your heat signatures have been detected.”

Sara swallowed hard and steeled herself, “Alright.” She grasped Kallo’s shoulder tightly, hands shaking terribly, “Take care of the children. I’m going to take care of that thing.”

She tried to stand, but Kallo grabbed her arms and pulled her back down, terror in his eyes, “Without weapons?” He hissed, “That’s suicide, we have no defenses!”

“We have one.” She smiled for him despite her fear, “Trust me.”

Kallo stared at her. She could hear the Geth coming closer, they were running out of time. She could see the fear in his eyes, fear she felt herself, but there wasn’t time for fear. That was what he father always said, there’s no time for fear. There’s only time for action.

She squeezed Kallo’s hands and removed them from her arms. She stood just as the Geth entered the apartment. She whirled around, pulled back her fist, and encased it in her biotics. She swung her arm as hard as she could, and her fist connecting with the Geth’s face before it could raise its gun.

The Geth was thrown into the wall behind it. It smashed, creating a huge dent, and fell into several pieces. Dead.

Sara breathed heavily, staring at the torn up Geth. She looked down, seeing that both her arms were encased in her biotics. She hadn’t used her biotics in years.

“Since when do you have biotics?!” Kallo screeched, looking a little frantic.

“Later!” She called back as she heard rushing footsteps coming down the hall. More Geth flooded in, so Sara pushed her way to the door. Using her biotics she punched, kicked, and generated shields. Her biotics were not very strong, never had been, but it was enough to hold back the Geth in that choke point.

SAM was still there, but he was flickering in and out. “SAM, I can’t keep this up!” Sara yelled above the commotion, “We need an exit!”

“Unable to process.” He replied, voice fading in and out.

“SAM?! _Voetsek_ , you cannot be serious!”

She kept fighting, for lack of anything else productive to do. Kallo had moved the children to the back wall, trying to tend to their wounds. The children were terrified, but Kallo tried to shield them as best he could. He even brought over the comforter from the bed, trying to keep them comfortable.

SAM was fading fast, straining to try and stay connected to Sara’s Tool, “The Geth are blocking my systems. I can no longer access Citadel mapping.”

“Work around their encryptions, we need—!”

Suddenly, Sara heard the most horrific screaming she’d ever heard. The Geth had stopped for a moment, and as she stood there catching her breath, the screaming came closer. She could tell it was coming from the window side, so she moved closer, prepared to attack whatever was coming next. What she was not prepared for was something humanoid, yet distinctly _not_ human, launching itself through the smashed window. It raced forward and tackled Sara to the ground before she could get a punch in.

Sara had the wind knocked out of her. The creature began to claw at her, ripping into her flesh, and it was all she could do to block and dodge the worst of its attacks. It screamed into her face, pulled at her arms and her hair, trying to find an opening. Finally it got the better of her— it clawed straight into her left eye, raking to the side toward her ear. Sara _howled_ in pain, arching up in some desperate attempt to shake the creature from her body. It was a pain unlike anything she had ever experienced.

Then, just as quickly as it had come, the creature was shocked into stillness. Sara had enough wherewithal to punch it with her biotics, sending the creature flying back out the window.

For a moment she saw Kallo standing above her, holding out his palm. Sparks still flew around his outstretched hand, and she realized he had used his Tool to shock the creature, saving her life. But she only had a second to focus on that, the next moment she was overcome by the pain in her eye. She wailed and covered her eye with her hand, knowing it still bled profusely. “Sara!” Kallo fell to the ground beside her, pulling her up off the ground and to a sitting position. Her breaths were labored, interrupted by grunts and groans of pain. “Let me see.”

Sara, with her entire body shaking, managed to slowly pull her hand away from her face. Kallo gasped, his eyes wide in horror, starting to shake himself.

“Y-your… it’s…”

Sara shook her head, gulping down further groans of pain. She had to block it out. She was very good at blocking out pain. “I-I’m okay.” She lied, for his sake as well as her own, “I’m okay.”

More screams and screeches permeated the area. When they looked out the door they could see a Geth pulling a woman down the hallway by her hair. She screamed and kicked, but couldn’t break free, and was soon gone.

Sara knew another wave was coming. She managed to pull herself and Kallo up off the ground, “We need a solid wall behind us, I can’t defend in two directions!”

An idea instantly hit Kallo, and he nodded to his right, “The bathroom. Go!”

Kallo rushed to herd the children into the bathroom while Sara went over to one of the Geth bodies. She grabbed its rifle and several thermal clips, thankfully still intact. It needed to be reloaded, however, so Sara moved back to the bathroom as Kallo and one of the older children were pushing the couch in front of the doorway. Sara helped them both over the couch before hopping over herself, crouching down to try and reload the rifle. 

As she fiddled with the rifle her eye-- her entire head-- throbbed with pain. But she didn’t have time for pain, she didn’t have time to roll over and wail. She had to figure out how to reload the damn rifle; she’d never used more than a pistol, and that had been many years before, before she’d left her parent’s care.

As she worked Kallo came to her side, gently getting her to turn to him, “Face me, okay? Your eye needs medigel.”

Sara kept her eye down to the rifle as Kallo treated her still bleeding eye. Thankfully her eye was not bleeding as badly as before, and the medigel was further stopping the blood flow. Kallo looked sick and horrified, but he worked dutifully to treat her wounds.

“Is it bad?” She asked him, for lack of anything else to say between their taut nerves.

“Uh…” Kallo gave her a nervous smile, but his voice and body trembled in spite of it, “No, it’s— I’m sure it’ll—”

He couldn’t finish the sentence, and Sara didn’t want him to. She just nodded, feeling her nerves almost… shut down. She felt herself growing very calm, in the face of Kallo’s terror.

“Thanks for trying.” She said to him.

Kallo put a patch over her eye, then began wrapping it into place with medical bandages. It was itchy and uncomfortable, but she just had to deal with it. As he was finishing the wrap Sara finally got the gun to reload, and prepared for another wave of enemies.

“Your father teach you this stuff?” Kallo asked her, trembling even more now that his hands had nothing to do.

“Pistols.” Sara replied, startled by the complete lack of emotion in her voice, “This can’t be much different, can it?”

That did not calm Kallo down, but Sara didn’t have room in her mind to worry about it right now. She could hear Geth and those humanoid creatures coming closer, headed for their apartment. As she prepared for them the two felt a rumbling in the Citadel. Sara glanced outside, out through the window and into the space between the Citadel’s arms. She watched as the arms began to close in on themselves, and a massive ship flew through the debris of battle towards the council chambers. She’d never seen a ship like it, nothing even remotely similar. It was eerie, and terrifying.

“The arms are closing.” She reported to Kallo, who hadn’t dared lean out of the safety of the bathroom. 

“What does that mean for us?”

“I don’t know.” She told him honestly, “We can’t worry about it right now. Another wave is coming.”

Sara watched past the couch, watched the door and the broken window for the first signs of movement. Only Kallo touching her shoulder brought her focus back to him— he was shaken, and something in Sara finally reacted to his terror.

“We’re… not going to survive, are we?” He whispered, eyes wide, haunted. It pulled something out of Sara, some deep root of determination which called forth her courage. She could do this. For Kallo’s sake, if nothing else, she would protect them.

She grabbed him, hand solid and sure, startling him out of his fears. Something he saw in her features shocked him— no. It rocked him to his very core.

“We are _not_ going to die here.” She told him, a seriousness in her voice that she’d never heard there before, “Not if I have anything to say about it.” She squeezed his shoulder, making sure to look him in the eye, “Go and help the children. I’ll make sure those bots don’t reach us. I’m not giving up so don’t you dare give up either, got it?”

He stared at her. His fear was profound, but looking into her eye and seeing the determination there finally made him settle. He took a long breath, steeled his nerves, and his trembling ceased.

“Okay.” He said with a nod, “Please be careful.”

She smiled, “I’ll try.” And that was all he needed to hear. 

The screeching got much louder. Kallo moved back to the shower stall, where he had moved all of the children to shield them from the outside. Sara watched as Geth and the humanoids began to enter the room, searching for them. Sara took a breath, squared her shoulders, and started to shoot.

It was not like firing a pistol, and she missed quite a lot at the start. Many of their enemies got too close, and Sara had no choice but to punch them with her rapidly fading biotics. She was exhausted, and the blood she’d lost had not helped matters, but she knew she needed to keep fighting.

After a little while Sara managed to get the hang of the rifle. She was not good at shooting, not at all, but she was mercifully granted easy targets. The humanoids would run in straight lines, with no apparent consciousness to make them dodge her shots. The Geth were smarter, but they were forced into a tight area with no cover, and Sara was given easy shots on all of them.

The couch was not adequate protection, bullets went right through it, but due to the tight battlefield Sara was able to take out most of their enemies before they could fire shots. She kept a weak barrier up in the doorway, strong enough to stop some of the shots fired. Others made it through her barrier, hitting the bathroom wall behind her. The children would scream, but Kallo had moved them into a corner out of sight of the doorway, relatively protected by the shower stall. 

She wasn’t sure how much time passed. All she knew was that she was getting steadily more exhausted, and her thermal clips were running low. She had taken a beating, and was actively bleeding from several cuts on her fists and arms. She kept fighting, but she knew if these hostiles kept coming, she would not be able to hold them back. Her father’s training could only take her so far.

Then the Citadel began to rumble again. Sara glanced outside and saw that the arms were opening back up, and the Alliance fleet was entering the battle. She couldn’t focus on it, she still had to fight, but she could see the flashes of light from explosions reflecting off the floor and walls of the apartment.

Not long after there was a massive explosion, so bright it blinded her for a moment. She thought she was a goner, but the humanoid that had been running at her had stopped when the explosion happened. Sara looked out and saw the massive ship was breaking apart in a fiery mass. The humanoids and Geth in the apartment immediately retreated, the screeching stopped, and in an instant everything was silent. It was over.

Sara, stunned and bleeding, moved away from the torn up couch. Her biotics dissipated, her hands shook, and her heart pounded wildly. As she backed up she saw herself in the mirror, bloodied and bruised and fucked up in a way she couldn’t have imagined— she quickly looked away, back out to the apartment itself. She couldn’t take any chances, but she was tired, she was in pain, and she needed to take this break she was offered.

Sara sat down heavily, leaning against the wall near the couch, rifle laying beside her ready to be grabbed again. She tilted her head back and shut her eye, allowing herself to float for a moment. She let herself tune everything out, all her senses, for a few precious seconds. It was enough to calm the pounding of her heart, to allow her breaths to even out.

She could feel the cuts and bruises all over her body, many of them still slowly oozing blood and god knows what else. She felt dirty and sticky and uncomfortable and she wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a warm bed, but she still had a job to do, she still had a group to lead out of here. Maybe she could sleep, just for a minute. Just for a minute…

“Sara?” She heard a voice, but it sounded muffled and far away. It was like she was floating in water, submerged and barely aware. “Sara?” The voice came again, clearer this time. She was surfacing. A hand shook her, bringing her back faster. Then her brain kicked in and brought a forth a name to match the voice; Kallo. “Come on, talk to me. Please…” He begged, sounding heartbroken. 

Sara fought her way back to consciousness. She hadn’t realized she’d passed out, didn’t know how long she was gone. Her eye fluttered open, and the first thing she saw was Kallo’s terrified face staring back at her. 

“That’s it!” He breathed, hope coming to his features, “Come on Sara, come back to me. Everything’s alright now, they’re all gone.”

She blinked hard and shook her head, feeling like she was settling back into her body. The pain came back in a violent wave, making her groan and shudder. Everything came back into focus, and Kallo heaved out a great sigh of relief.

“Blessed by rains.” He muttered, sounding like he wanted to cry.

“Oh god…” Sara stuttered, groaning in pain again, shifting to try and get comfortable, “How long was I out?”

“A few minutes.” Kallo told her, swiping at his eyes, “You scared me something fierce.” 

“Sorry.” She muttered, still feeling like her voice was far away from her body. “Fucking hurts.” She ground out through clenched teeth.

“I’m sure it does.” Kallo looked her over, “Let me wrap up these wounds. Come on, loosen up.”

Sara uncurled from herself and allowed him to get to work. Kallo bandaged her up, her hands and arms requiring the most attention. Many of the cuts had sealed themselves with dried blood, which he left alone to conserve the last dredges of the medical supplies he’d found. She noticed the bruising appearing all over her knuckles and forearms and grimaced, opting to ignore them for the time being.

She looked around. The children were still in the shower stall, terrified but mostly unharmed. Well, nine of them were there. She saw, on the opposite wall from the shower stall, one of the children was lying absolutely still. It was the red-headed girl, who had been the most badly wounded when they had first found the children. Kallo had covered her with the blanket he’d taken from the bed, only the ends of her hair and a single hand peeking out from underneath.

Kallo noticed she was staring and swallowed hard, “I… couldn’t save her.” He admitted quietly, “Too much damage. Too much blood.”

Sara finally took a good look at Kallo. He was covered in blood and dirt and grime of various colors. He’d wrapped up his injured arm in proper bandages, and had a few new scrapes, but was otherwise physically unharmed. Mentally, however…

“I’m sure you did everything you could.” She said to him. He used up his final bandage, and when he was done Sara grabbed hold of his hand and refused to let go, “You were amazing, Kal. You were so brave, you saved those kids. You saved me.”

Kallo did not look convinced. He looked down at her bruised hand and worried at his lip, something unreadable in his eyes. That was unacceptable. Sara huffed and brought his hand to her chest, resting it over her heart so he could feel her heartbeat, still going strong.

“You saved me.” She repeated. The physical gesture seemed to snap him out of his wandering thoughts. “We survived. We’re safe.”

“Yeah.” He muttered, voice hoarse, “We’re safe.”

Kallo moved to sit next to Sara against the wall, never releasing her hand. “Nine of ten is better than none.” She reassured him, squeezing his hand.

“That’s thanks to you.” 

“No, that’s thanks to us.” She smiled over at him, “We make a pretty kickass team.”

That coaxed a genuine smile out of him, “Yeah, we do, don’t we?” 

There was a far away explosion, making them both jump. It was far in the distance, and when nothing followed the explosion they both relaxed again.

“So, who’s SAM?” Kallo asked to fill the silence. Sara moved closer to him, and they leaned into one another for comfort.

“The AI my father built.” Sara replied, quiet enough that the children could not overhear, “I never wanted to be connected to him but my father made sure that I had access to SAM in case of an emergency. This is the first time I’ve ever had to call on him. You can imagine the damage if the public knew.”

“I’m glad you had him, we would have died otherwise.” Kallo looked straight at her then, “And the biotics?”

“You remember when I said my mother was exposed to element zero when she was pioneering biotics?” Kallo nodded, “Well, that included when she was pregnant we me and Scott. Scott’s the real biotic though, his are so strong. My biotics are weak, always have been.”

“Weak?” Kallo was flabbergasted, “That counted as weak? You— you seemed like a solider. Fought like a solider.”

Sara groaned, and not in pain. “I am not a solider.” She growled. Kallo didn’t move, unafraid of her bluster, “That wasn’t how a solider fights. That was fight or flight, survival mode kicking in. My dad just— he’s an N7, you know, the Alliance is all he knows. He trained me and Scott when we were teenagers, taught us how to shoot pistols and how to defend ourselves. He wanted us to be able to survive, should the need arise. I suppose this is what he meant, but… well. I never…”

“You never…?” Kallo prompted gently.

“I never wanted to learn this stuff. Didn’t want to hold a gun or use my biotics.” Sara shrugged her shoulders, “My father— he didn’t want children, or expect them. He expected good little soldiers, so that’s what he tried to make us.” She laughed bitterly, and Kallo squeezed her hand in response, “And now look, I’m forced to thank him. That damn training saved our lives.”

“You didn’t show any unease.” Kallo leaned his head to touch his temple with hers, trying to comfort her in some way, “Training is all about how you use it.”

Sara shook her head slowly, letting herself release some of the hurt, even if she didn’t like it, “I don’t like to use them— my biotics.” She admitted, “I hate that I have them, that— that shit killed her. It feels cursed. I feel cursed. So I just… pretend it doesn’t exist.” And what could Kallo possibly say to that? Nothing. He didn’t even try. He just held her hand, being there for her. She took a minute to collect herself, shifting to look at him a little easier, “Where’d you learn first aid?” She asked him, an easy change of subject.

He took the change without complaint, “I made sure it was part of my flight training. It’s the first rule of space-flight, there’s always going to be a problem that needs to be solved quickly. When something unexpected happens, you get stuck out in space and you’re dealing with injuries, help is very likely unavailable in a void. You have to be able to take care of yourself. Of course,” He chuckled nervously, “I’ve never had to utilize any of that training until now.”

“You were wonderful.” Sara assured him again, “Don’t think I’d be alive right now if you didn’t know how to patch me up.”

“I don’t know,” He grinned, “I think you’re too stubborn to die.” 

Sara snorted, letting his teasing pull her back to shore, “And you’re too stubborn to stay in cover. Honestly, sticking your hand right into a monsters face?”

“Hey, I saved your life.”

“You did.” She gave him a grin, completely genuine, “And I owe you everything.”

He pulled on her arm, and the two leaned fully into one another, “I think I already have everything.” He said, and she wasn’t sure that it was a joke.

They took some time to rest, but both knew that many of them needed medical attention, and soon. So after a brief break they gathered up the children and filed out of the apartment complex. Sara led them along, rifle in hand. Kallo was at the back, making sure all the children could keep up. As a unit they began picking through debris, making their way towards a C-Sec station Sara knew to be further up the ward, in the direction of the Presidium. She hoped it was still there.

The Citadel looked like a war zone, torn apart and broken. Not far into their walk they saw what appeared to be giant spikes looming in the distance. As they got closer they could see bodies impaled on the spikes, with piles of bodies gathered below. Horrified, Sara and Kallo made sure the children did not look as they passed through the macabre scene. Kallo did snap a few pictures, but they did not stay to take a good look.

Finally, as they neared the C-Sec station, they came across a group of volunteers mixed with C-Sec officers who were looking for survivors in a collapsed building. When they saw the group they rushed forward in a flurry to pull them out of the debris and into a makeshift staging area, calling medics to tend to them. The medics took the children away for treatment in a hospital tent, disappearing behind the flap.

“Okay.” Sara nodded to herself, “They’re safe.” She set down the rifle and turned around, heading back toward the debris, “I’m going to help the search and rescue.”

Kallo didn’t follow her, not that she fully noticed. She started to walk, spotting the volunteers slowly uncovering a collapsed building, pulling out bodies.

“Wha— no no no, hold on!” Kallo ran to stop her. He grabbed her and stood in front of her, holding onto her shoulders. There was a desperate look in his eyes, something sad and terrified. “You need to go with the medics.” He said, not allowing her to take another step.

“There’s people under that rubble.” She told him, a hysterical edge to her voice that surprised her.

“I know,” He sounded as heartbroken as she felt, “but your eye is serious and you need to get it checked right now. You can’t help anyone if you’re dead. It’s bleeding again, I can see it.”

Sara couldn’t see that, and she didn’t care. She grabbed his arms and squeezed, “But the _people_.” She whispered, desperate to be released, to help, to do _something_.

“We’ll join the volunteers later.” He promised her. The sincerity in his eyes left no room for doubt. When a medic approached them, Kallo nodded to the woman and tried to hand Sara off, “Go with them for treatment, then come find me. Okay?”

She wouldn’t let go of his arms, wouldn’t let the medic pull her away, “Kal, I can’t—”

“You can.” He pulled her in then, into something like a hug, but not quite since she wouldn’t release his arms, “Please, Sara. _Please._ Do it for me.”

And, well, how could she say no so such an impassioned request? It was all she could take. She slumped her shoulders and reluctantly released his arms.

“Fine.” 

Kallo carefully passed her off to the medic, who led her into the hospital tent. He waved once when Sara looked back, and then she was gone, leaving him to wait with the masses of survivors, all of them waiting for— well, none of them really knew what they were waiting for. Not yet.

—

It was a long time before Sara reemerged from the hospital tent. A very long time. Kallo spent that time among thousands of other survivors, all waiting for treatment and food and shelter. He gave the pictures he took to C-Sec, secured some rations for himself and for Sara, found some blankets and claimed two boxes for them to sit on when Sara was released from treatment. When he finally settled he watched the people streaming in, everyone dirty and bloody and in various stages of shock, all asking themselves the same question. 

How could this happen here? How could this happen on the Citadel?

He was so caught up in his own musings, he didn’t notice Sara approaching until she sat down next to him, startling him in the process. It was obvious why it had taken so long— she had fresh bandage wrappings all over her body. The wrappings around her eye were particularly thick, and she looked tired but not as if she was about to pass out, which Kallo supposed was an improvement.

“Hey.” He smiled for her, “How’s the eye?”

She didn’t smile back. She didn’t do anything at all. “I… lost it.” She said, a haunted look in the eye she had left, “They said it’ll scar, and I’ll have to wear a patch.”

Kallo put an arm around her and handed her the rations he’d saved for her, “I’m so sorry.”

She took a deep breath and looked around at all the other survivors, absently accepting the rations without realizing that’s what they were right off. “Shouldn’t say I’m surprised.” She glanced at him then, “How’s your arm?”

“Doesn’t hurt as bad.” He replied, “I’ll get it looked at when we get back to Sur’Kesh. There’s not enough medics to go around as it is.”

Sara nodded, but Kallo could tell she wasn’t fully ‘there’ yet. He held on to her and let her settle, let her come back from wherever her mind has wandered. When she started to eat, he tried to keep her there.

“I tried to get a message out to— well, anyone. Everything’s jammed.” He said for need of conversation.

“Figured.” Sara muttered, “I talked to a C-Sec guy, he said there’s no shuttles leaving the Citadel for a while. I’m going to go and help them search for survivors. Just… in a few minutes. Lets hope there’s people still alive out there under the rubble.”

Kallo nodded, “With my arm as is I doubt I can lift much, but I’ll go with you and help the medics if I can. The Geth couldn’t separate us, I’m not letting search teams do it either. Not after all that.”

Sara hesitated at that, shifting minutely closer to Kallo. He let her, no questions asked. “You promise?” She asked in a whisper that Kallo almost didn’t catch.

“I promise.” He assured her, just as quietly, only for them to hear.

Sara took a stabilizing breath and looked out among the masses. There was a look in her eye, something Kallo recognized as a return to one’s memories. A haze that clouded her eyes, just slightly.

“When I was sixteen I took a vacation with my father,” She began with a weight to her voice, a reverence Kallo hadn’t expected, “we planned to do a lot of rock climbing and training. We were in the Himalayas when a massive earthquake hit. The quake triggered several landslides not far from where we’d been staying which wiped out several villages. My father and I took the family shuttle and got as close as we could. The worst hit areas were usually only accessible by shuttle or animal transport, and with the roads destroyed we had to walk and climb ourselves. The dust was being held above the disaster area by a weather system so no shuttles could land for days. Then the moisture in the air collected on the dust.” Her voice trembled, just a little, just barely. Almost unnoticeable, had Kallo not been so physically close to her body, “Trying to search for survivors in pouring rain with the threat of further slides was terrifying, but we did it anyway.”

He was stunned. He was learning things about Sara he never could have imagined, never would have dreamed of, and the ramifications of those admissions were a bit too big for him to handle at that moment, “Your father _willingly_ took you into a disaster zone when you were a _teenager_? That’s... incomprehensible.”

She shrugged, like it was normal. Like it was expected. Perhaps, for her, it was. “We were experienced enough to make the climb to help those people. Once we got to the disaster zone we helped with the search and rescue. Most of the people we pulled out were gone but some… some survived. It was amazing when we found someone alive, the cheers were overwhelming. I spent months there with dad, my entire summer break helping those people put their lives back together. Then I had to leave and two days later I was back at my college, sick as hell from the dust in my lungs but that was nothing a doctor and clean air couldn’t fix. It was a very… sobering experience.” She watched the masses pass by them, all lost, all confused, all scared, “Desperation looks the same on everybody.” She told him, sounding far older than she was, “I want to get out there. I _need_ to go look for survivors. That’s the only way things will be okay.”

Kallo wasn’t sure he could fully comprehend all that she’d told him. Things it sounded like she hadn’t told anyone before. He was too tired to really try. “You amaze me.” He admitted to her instead. Because it was true.

“Amaze you?” She asked him incredulously, “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I just happened to have the chance to do the right thing. I’m proud I was able to help those people but it took me months to stop seeing their dead faces every time I tried to sleep. He always expected self-sacrifice, then and now...”

Kallo shook his head, getting her to pay attention to his words, “You probably saved a lot of lives back then. You saved lives today too.”

“Yeah.” She muttered, “Just… at what cost?”

And he didn’t have an answer to that. She knew he didn’t.

Instead of compounding that bombshell of a question, she shifted topics instead. They were becoming very good at shifting topics. “Say, what does ‘shakni’ mean?” She asked him.

Kallo shook himself and sat straighter, letting his arm fall away from her, regaining space between them. “It’s a curse, old Salarian tongue.” He explained.

“Well I figured out that much, but what does it mean?”

“As a literal translation? ‘Death of a gene pool’. Makes more sense if you’re Salarian, I think.”

Sara snorted, “So you got hit with shrapnel—”

Kallo started to smile, “It hurt, Sara.”

“— and shakni was the first think that crossed your mind.” She finished without missing a beat. 

“You said ‘voetsek’ like a swear.”

“Because it is a swear.”

“And what’s it mean?”

“It means ‘piss off’. Expressive, isn’t it?”

Kallo laughed. He honest to goodness _laughed_ , pure and bright. “Hypocrite.”

And Sara couldn’t help it. She laughed right along with him, and for the first time it felt like everything was going to be okay.

Once they had eaten and rested, the two went out and joined the volunteers, digging people out of the rubble both dead and alive. It was hours of grueling work, exhausting and demanding, but Sara and Kallo kept going. Sara helped move rubble while Kallo helped tend to the survivors they found. Most that they pulled out were dead but there were a fair number of survivors, and that brought hope to everyone who was looking desperately through the remains of a once beautiful piece of the Citadel.

Eventually, after what must have been twelve or so hours, trained rescue crews finally reached their ward. They were bolstered by military personnel of many races, who took over the search and rescue efforts. Those who were uninjured were allowed to stay, but those with injuries were forced to cease looking for survivors. 

Kallo had an idea, and they soon found a member of the Salarian military, who was able to point them towards the first shuttles leaving for Sur’Kesh. Unable to help any further, the two showed their credentials and were granted access to a shuttle. Finally they left the Citadel with other refugees, beginning the long journey back home.

There was only one question they could ask as they silently watched the shuttle fly through FTL.

What now?


	6. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Look at me.” She asked— nay, she _demanded_. It was gentle, it was careful, but it was a demand, and he complied. He met her gaze, and he kept it. “From now on, when you realize you’re lost and thinking about that place, I want you to consciously think about this moment instead.”
> 
> “This moment?” He asked quietly.
> 
> “Yes. You, me, and the Sur’Kesh sunset.” And something about the way she said it pulled at him, stole his breath, left him open and vulnerable.
> 
> \--
> 
> Sara and Kallo deal with their ordeal on the Citadel as well as they can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frontier will be updated every Sunday (Unless I forget, case in point this chapter lmao)
> 
> Warnings for nightmares, injury recovery and PTSD, both shown and discussed, and flashbacks.

It took three days to get back to their facility, but not because of a slow shuttle. Upon arriving at Sur’Kesh a medical team was summoned to look over all of the refugees. They determined that Sara needed to go back into surgery immediately, so they took her away as another medic checked Kallo’s arm. 

It turned out all he needed was antibiotics, so he took what was given to him and was released. They asked if he wanted a flight back to his facility, but he ardently refused; he would not leave Sara here by herself. Eventually she was brought back out of surgery, sedated, and Kallo refused to leave her bedside. 

Finally, once Sara had awoken and been cleared by the medics, they were put on a shuttle back home. They were both utterly exhausted and desperately in need of showers, but both of them finally began to truly relax. They were back on Sur’Kesh— they could put the Citadel behind them now.

It was the middle of the night when they made it home. The docking bay was empty when their shuttle landed, save for four souls. Sara and Kallo stepped out of the shuttle, and no sooner had they left the docking portion of the shuttle bay they were startled by a body slamming into theirs.

It was Sorenna, who was hugging them both fiercely. With their injuries a fierce hug was not what they needed, and both of them grimaced in pain.

“Ow ow ow!” Kallo yelped.

“Careful Sora!” Sara hissed at the same time. Sorenna gasped and jumped back, releasing them.

“Sorry!” There were tears in her eyes, but she didn’t touch them again. Behind her Lucille, Teon and O’Connell approached. They all looked so concerned, and seeing the two bandaged and covered in blood did nothing to comfort them.

“We heard about the Citadel and we couldn’t contact you, we’ve been worried sick!” Sorenna scolded half-heartedly, swiping tears from her eyes. Neither of them really had it in them to comfort her, but Kallo did move forward to pat her shoulder.

“You two had it rough, huh?” Lucille asked quietly, eyes searching their injuries.

“Yeah, well…” Neither of them wanted to talk about it. Neither of them could. It must have shown on their faces, because the group immediately backed down. Their curiosities could wait.

“Well, you’re alive, that’s all that matters now.” Teon said with a confidence Sara did not believe he felt, “Turning to piracy to pay the bills, Sara?”

She smiled for him, but it didn’t reach her eyes, “I almost missed your jokes when I was, you know, nearly dead.”

“And yet I made you smile.”

She rolled her eye, “Please, I’m trying to be subtle.”

O’Connell laughed, though it sounded very forced, “Yeah right, subtle is not your strong suit.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means—”

“Oh never mind that,” Lucille interrupted their fake argument with a huff, and they shut up immediately. “You two look like death. Go back to your apartments. If I see either of you set foot in the engineering wing within the next week I'm buying you both a one-way ticket off-world, got it?”

“Yes ma’am.” They both said, perfect mirrors of each other.

“Good.” She nodded firmly, “Call us if you need anything, don’t push yourselves.”

It was a kindness neither of them could really deal with at the moment, so they nodded and took their leave instead. And if the group noticed them holding hands as they left, none of them mentioned it.

The two of them parted ways to go to their own apartments, albeit a little reluctant to separate. The deciding factor was the fact that they both wanted a shower, and didn’t want to take turns.

Sara stood under the hot water for a long time; there was no shortage, after all, not on Sur’Kesh. The shower drain filled with dirt and grime, grease and blood swirling around her feet. She slowly rubbed her body with soap and washed every nook and cranny, over and over until she finally felt clean. Her hair was a disaster— she gave it a cursory rinse to get the majority of the blood out, but she knew that she would have to make the next day a wash day. It was a shame she would have to undo the braids Scott had crafted for her so quickly.

Finally, Sara got out of the shower and applied moisturizer on her skin, allowing the familiar motions to soothe her. When she was done she got into her comfiest pajamas and looked over her bloody clothes. They could not be salvaged, she decided, and she threw them away.

When that was done, she didn’t quite know what to do with herself. She wanted to sleep but… but she didn’t think she could. She needed—

Her doorbell rang, like fate paying a visit. She opened the door, knowing who was out there, knowing that he needed the same comfort she did. Kallo smiled down at her nervously, a bag in his hand, which he lifted to show her, “I… brought tea?” 

Sara raised her eyebrows and shook her head, “I’ve got something stronger.” She told him.

“I’ll take it.”

She let him in and shut the door. The moment it closed she pulled Kallo into a hug. It was all-encompassing, both of them pulling each other as close as possible, ignoring the pain that flared in their wounds. They needed that comfort. They needed to feel each other alive, if just for a moment, and neither of them complained.

The two of them took some time to help one another wrap their worst cuts in fresh bandages. Sara’s knuckles were the worst off, not including her eye; they were horrifically bruised and split, but she knew she would heal with time. For now she taught Kallo to help her wrap her hands as she did when she boxed, and the wraps worked well enough to support her weakened hands. She was thankful that Kallo hadn’t sustained any worse injuries, she’d done her job right— Kallo, on the other hand, looked sick when he helped her with her wounds. Sick with guilt would be an accurate assumption.

Finally, Kallo turned the TV to a news channel while Sara poured them small glasses of whiskey. She brought them to the couch and handed one off to Kallo, who had claimed one end. She claimed the other end, curling her legs beneath her and watching the news report. She ached everywhere, but they both needed to see this.

Of course, the news was reporting on the Citadel attack. “... Commander Shepard was hailed a hero as they hunted down the Geth leader, former Spectre Saren Arterius. Shepard’s ship-- the SSV Normandy SR-1-- assisted the Alliance military in destroying Saren’s flagship, ending the conflict. Humanity’s efforts to save the Citadel population has given them an official seat on the Galactic Council. Councilor Tevos has commended the Alliance military for their bravery in the face of adversity, and expressed her deepest sympathies for the massive losses humanity suffered to save the people. The total number of casualties in this attack is currently unknown.”

It was history in the making, and neither of them had much energy to imagine the ramifications of that. “Geth.” Sara grumbled, “AI always rubbed me the wrong way, but this…”

“There will be too many casualties to comprehend.”

Sara downed the rest of her whiskey in one gulp. It burned, grounding her to the moment. Kallo quickly followed suit. “I’d rather not think about it.” Sara admitted, “I hope those kids will be okay.”

“I’m sure they will.” Kallo nodded slowly, obviously thinking the same thing, “They seemed to be getting a lot of attention from the medics. We have to trust the system.”

Sara let out a groaning sigh and got herself back up off the couch, “As appealing as getting piss drunk sounds right now, I think it's time for that knockout tea of yours. I'm not in any mood for a hangover.”

“Agreed.”

Kallo got himself up to make tea. While he was gone Sara went into her closet and pulled out some blankets and a pillow, draping them carefully over the back of her couch. He walked back in with two steaming mugs, handing one off to her. The warmth of the mug alone was soothing.

“I’ve got extra pillows if you need them,” She said, “help yourself to the fridge.” 

Kallo glanced between her and the blankets a few times, like he was having trouble processing what she’d said. Perhaps he was. She wouldn’t have blamed him.

“You don’t have to do that for me, I can go home.”

She raised a brow and took a sip of tea. The warmth spread down to her toes. “Did you really think I was going to kick you out? After all that bullshit we both need companionship, I'm not going to play a tough guy act.”

“…Oh.” He managed after a short bout of surprised staring, “Really?”

Sara stepped a little closer to him and gave him a fond, yet exasperated, look. He looked as lost and afraid as she felt, and that was unacceptable. “Yes, really. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Finally his shoulders relaxed. Whatever he was looking for in her face he seemed to find. “Yeah. We are.”

They drank their tea together in silence, allowing themselves that moment of closeness to process. Allowing themselves to grieve.

—

Kallo couldn’t sleep that night. For the first time he felt like he could sleep for a week, but he just couldn’t fall under. Every time he shut his eyes the memories of the Citadel came rushing back in perfectly clear focus, every single moment of it, and he couldn’t shake those images no matter what he did.

That red headed little girl, laying dead on the bathroom floor. Sara with her eye torn out of her skull, blood flowing down her face. Children huddled in a shower stall, bloodied and screaming. Those were the images he was never going to forget. 

A quiet muttering nearby pulled his attention. Sara was saying something in her sleep, rolling over in her bed. He couldn’t understand the words, and it didn’t look like she was having a comfortable dream, but at least she was sleeping.

There was something calming about hearing her quiet mutterings, hearing her shift around. He didn’t feel so alone, or so afraid. As he listened to her he started to think about the heroics he saw on the Citadel and focused on that— how brave Sara had been, how hard she had fought. The courage of all those volunteers they worked alongside, and all the people they pulled out of the rubble who still breathed.

Finally, on those thoughts, he was able to slip into a dreamless sleep. Not for a long time, not fully restful, but enough to put him back on his feet.

It would be several more hours, late into the morning, before Sara woke up. Kallo had slept for a while before giving up, turning on the tv quiet enough to not disturb his friend. He contemplated leaving, but he didn’t want Sara to wake up alone.

After a while he heard her whimper. It was such a sad sound he muted the television to see if she was awake. She muttered in her sleep, then cried out. Kallo stood to go and wake her from her nightmare, but all of a sudden Sara gasped and launched herself from her bed. She landed in a heap on the floor, penned in by her own blankets, thrashing in confusion and shock.

“Hey, hey!” Kallo rushed to her and crouched down in her line of sight, “It was a dream,” He said, “you’re fine. You’re safe.”

Sara stared at him for a long time, her breaths ragged and heavy. It took a few minutes, but Kallo could see the recognition returning to her eyes, and finally she let out a heaving sigh. Kallo helped her untangle herself from her blankets, stealing glances at her expressions of guilt and pain and heartbreak. 

“You okay?” He asked her, helping her to her feet with all the care he possessed.

“I don’t know.” She replied quietly, almost to the point that Kallo couldn’t hear her. “You hungry?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” 

It was the distraction they both sorely needed and held onto with both hands, trying to find a way to feel normal again. “One mediocre breakfast, coming up.” 

—

The Tempest team were working as normal on a sunny afternoon. Although, normal was slightly damaged by the fact they were missing their test pilot and their mathematician. But the team worked hard to pick up the slack, to make sure there wasn’t a pileup for their recovering friends who had been through so much in such a short amount of time. The reports they had seen from the Citadel had not been detailed, but they were not pretty either.

It was a normal, beautiful day, right up until Sara and Kallo marched into their office for work.

“Hey.” Sara gave a half wave as she went to her desk.

“Sorry we’re late.” Kallo followed her, setting down some papers on Sara’s desk before going to his own. He grabbed his chair and pulled it over to Sara’s desk in a few swift strides. “I’ll be writing for Sara today, her hands are a mess.”

“I told you I’m fine.” She said with little bite.

“I’m doing it.” He replied, with no room for argument.

Sara shot a fond look in his direction before opening her laptop, “Did the science wing send over those calculations I asked for?”

The room was silent. Lucille, Sorenna, O’Connell and Teon were staring at the pair in disbelief. No doubt they looked quite a sight, bandaged all over, bruised badly and undoubtedly in pain. Yet there they were, ready to get back to work.

Lucille glared daggers at them, “I told both of you to stay at home.” She almost yelled at them. Almost, but not quite.

“There’s a lot to do.”

“Bullshit there is, you two need some time to—”

“Luci…” Sara’s exhausted voice startled Lucille out of her worried anger, “Let us regain some semblance of normalcy, okay? Sitting at home, it’s… I think we both need a distraction right now.”

Kallo hadn’t sat down yet. He ran his hand absently over the back of his chair, staring down at it. It was as if looking around the room was too much to deal with. “It’s all over the news right now. Everyone’s talking, so…”

Lucille threw down her pen and slumped back in her chair. She leaned back and rubbed her face with her hands, circling her temples a few times with a long sigh.

“Fine.” She acquiesced, although reluctantly, “But I’m drawing the line at manual construction of any kind.”

“Deal.” The pair said in unison.

“And Sara?”

“Yes ma’am?”

Lucille scanned her hands worriedly, “No writing until the swelling goes down, okay? In fact, don’t use your hands for anything beyond typing. We can do that.”

The concern in her voice pulled a smile onto Sara’s lips, “Yes ma’am.”

And so they all settled back into their normal routine, pointedly not discussing what had happened to Sara and Kallo. Not discussing how close together they sat. Not discussing how much reassurance they needed. They would be okay, and all of them knew it.

—

Sara was decidedly uncomfortable. Of all the things she wanted to do after their stint on the Citadel, staring down her father answering his questions was not one of them.

Scott was on the call with them. She could see them both on her screen— Scott was nothing but concern, constantly raking over the bandages on her face and arms. Alec was stoic and stern, practically interrogating her about what she had experienced. Scott, more than once, stopped his more invasive questions before they were fully asked.

“I should have been there.” He muttered after Sara had shared a particularly horrific detail.

Sara waved him off, “It’s not your fault the Alliance wouldn’t give you more time off. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Fuck yeah it hurts,” Sara replied, carefully rolling her shoulder, “but I’ll be fine. That thing sure tried to kill me but I survived.”

“What thing?” Her father asked her, ever the solider.

“Hell if I know. There were Geth and then there were these… I don’t know, they looked like humans but not? They were black and blue and glowing and looked like machines. And their screams were…”

Alec made a loud noise on his end, startling Sara out of her wandering thoughts, “Don’t let yourself get stuck there.” He told her, “You get lost in the ghosts you’ll never get out, you understand?”

“Yes.” She breathed, shaking her head, clearing the fog.

“Good.” He nodded decisively, “SAM and I discussed what happened. The push-back was unexpected but it shouldn’t happen again.”

“I have updated my encryption algorithms against other AI processors.” SAM piped up, “The Geth attempted to shut down my programming. It will not happen again. This was an informative lesson.”

Sara clenched her fists, trying to control herself, “Informative doesn’t bring back the dead.” She ground out, “Let’s not forget that these were AI who started shooting people in cold blood.”

Alec shook his head at her, “We’ve talked about this. The Geth had creators to revolt against, there’s a difference.”

Sara was ready to argue. She was ready to yell and kick and scream about it all. Scott must have seen it, because he pushed himself closer to the screen, “Dad,” He demanded loudly, “kindly _shut up_. Sara almost died.”

Silence. Sara hadn’t wanted to face the reality of how close she’d come to death. Alec himself hadn’t seemed to fully consider it either— it dawned on his face, and he had the good sense to look ashamed.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, “Right. Of course.”

“And I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Sara followed up, because suddenly it all seemed like too much to deal with.

“Okay.” The boys agreed, and that was that.

Her father was fidgeting slightly as all three of them seemed to be at a loss of what to talk about. He wanted to say something, that much was clear, but the words didn’t seem to be there.

Finally he came to a decision, “Listen,” He implored, “I got a call from Jien recently. She’s asked me to fill in the role as Pathfinder for humanity in Andromeda.”

“Pathfinder?” Sara stared at him, eyes narrowing, wondering where he was going with this, “The ship we’re building right now is meant for a Pathfinder. Initiative scouting?”

“It’s more than that.” He explained, “Pathfinders are the ones who would survey planets, create outposts in crisis situations, find recourses, initiate First Contact if necessary.” He set his jaw and balled up his fists in preparation, “I accepted the role.”

Sara had never had a moment in her life where she could claim that time had stopped. Sure she’d heard of the feeling, but she’d never truly felt it. Time, to her, was always rushing by, never stationary for even the briefest of moments.

She now understood what “feeling like time has stopped” truly meant. It was the weight of a sun pressing down on you, with no hope of escaping its gravitational force.

Scott was not frozen nearly so long as Sara was. His shock was quickly replaced by something closer to frustration.

“You… what?” He ground out, “You’re going with them? To Andromeda?!”

Alec moved a little, and Sara could tell he was picking at his hands, a nervous tick she managed to catch every now and then. “I think my name has done enough damage here.”

Scott’s frustration was vanishing as quickly as his surprise did, now replaced by anger. Anger coming from Scott was not easily accomplished.

“So you’re just— you’re leaving just like that?! With no warning, no discussion, nothing?!” He demanded, hands gripping the edge of his table.

Alec studied his son for a few moments. It was like something he had hoped for was not there. “There’s room, if you two would like to join me.” He told them instead, hope just barely visible in his eyes, “You’d become part of the Pathfinder team, working with me in the cluster to find all those people a home.”

That, of course, did _nothing_ to calm Scott’s rising tide, “And leave the milky way? Hundreds or thousands of years in stasis with no way home?”

“…Just a suggestion.” Alec muttered pitifully.

Sara finally felt able to move, and immediately pushed her face into her still bruised hands. The swelling had gone down, thankfully. “I do not have the energy for this conversation right now.” She grumbled, “That’s fucking insane.”

Alec had the good sense to look guilty. Whether or not he felt guilty was another matter entirely. “Ah, you know me.” He tried to sound light-hearted, “Always taking the leap.”

His cheery tone did not land, and he looked very uncomfortable. When neither of his kids said anything, he cleared his throat, “Well. I, uh— have some meetings to get to. Get your rest Sara.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. He left their call faster than a cheetah at a full sprint, leaving Sara to groan aloud just to release some of the mounting emotion.

“Ass.” Scott growled, mostly to himself.

“Yeah, what’s new?” 

He shook his head, “Andromeda. A new galaxy, did he not even consider—” He couldn’t even finish his though, he merely slumped back in his chair with enough force to nearly send himself tumbling backwards. “We called to make sure you were okay, not to deal with his damn life.”

“For what it’s worth, I do appreciate the call.” She told him. That seemed to pull some of the threads of hurt away, but not nearly enough of them. “You know, he’s right about one thing. His name has done a lot of damage, to his life and to ours.”

Scott stared at her. He leaned forward and squinted a little, studying her face very closely. It didn’t take him long to see what she was considering, and was fighting the surprise he wanted to feel. She was surprised she was considering it at all.

“You are not considering going to Andromeda.” He tried weakly, and was met with silence. The nail in the coffin. “You _are_ considering going to Andromeda.” He breathed, eyes widening.

Sara waved her hand dismissively, “I’m not in much state to consider anything right now.” She admitted, “I’m just saying, with Ryder attached to us it closes a lot more doors than it opens. Maybe he has the right idea. A new start.”

When Scott said nothing, when he didn’t even look at her, her wandering thoughts broke. She couldn’t look at his face anymore so she didn’t, opting to stare at the corner of the screen instead. “Or maybe I’m just having survival nerves.” She amended quietly. She was getting tired, and it seemed Scott could see it.

He hesitated, and something in his eyes brought Sara back, just a little. She could practically see the wheels turning in his head, and the realization hit her like a truck— he was considering it.

But he wouldn’t talk about it further, Sara knew that. A moment later he shook his head, “Go get some sleep, sisi.” He said, and that was the end of it.

“You too, Scotty.” She replied, taking a mental note to leave this discussion for another day.

He was considering it, she was considering it, and for now that was all she needed to know.

—

The crew was hard at work one rainy afternoon when Lucille marched in with a _look_ on her face. It was a look that spoke of a meeting with Administration that had not gone well, and the stress in her eyes would be enough to give anyone pause.

“Alright everyone, listen up!” She shouted, startling everyone out of their work and conversations. They were silent instantly— Lucille never shouted. Never. “News came down the line. The Initiative’s timetable has shifted dramatically.” She lifted up her datapad and read, _“In light of recent galactic events, the Initiative fleet will be departing the Milky Way Galaxy by 2185 regardless of individual preparedness."_

The shock that overcame the room was sudden and dramatic. Teon actually jumped out of his seat, slamming his hands down on his desk.

“Two years?” Sara almost screeched, “That’s all we have?!”

“That’s insane!” Sorenna _did_ screech, “The Tempest division is barely in blueprints, and Bravo division hasn’t even started conceptualization!”

Lucille shrugged her shoulders pathetically, “I don’t have control over this decision, this is what we have to work with. That means we’re working overtime, double shifts, no excuses.”

A wave of anxiety fell over the room as they considered the true ramifications of the decision. “Why now?” Kallo asked for all of them, “Because of the Citadel attack?”

Teon folded his arms, lost in thought, “That’s a little suspicious, if you ask me.”

“Those answers are about my pay grade.” Lucille said, effectively shutting down their theories, “We’re here to work and we’re getting paid for overtime, so lets buckle down and finish these ships.”

“Yes ma’am!” They all replied with fervid, albeit confused, determination. 

And so began the struggle of their lives. What would have normally taken weeks was accomplished in days. Their work was not the cleanest, but it was effective— by the end of the week they had a completed Tempest blueprint, missing only one component. A few days later the science wing was beginning their virtual test models. Soon Administration was chiming in, adding in their own necessities, blocking other additions for their own reasons. The work was hard, fast and smooth, and they were all as happy as they were tired.

Sara still had to make time to see her doctor, however, which forced her to tell Lucille about her medical needs. Lucille must have seen the fear in her eyes because she blessedly didn’t ask any questions about why she required regular visits to her doctor. She merely accepted her needs without a word, and Sara would have cried had she not been going right back into the office.

Sara was at one such visit a few weeks into their intensive new overtime hours. Dr Elan has finished her general checkup, and was studiously checking over her missing eye and damaged eye-socket. 

The fact that he had written “underweight” on his clipboard did not escape her notice.

“How are you feeling?” He asked her broadly, outside of his very specific questions during her checkup.

“Stressed. Overworked.” She muttered. She knew better than to lie to her own doctor. Stress had different connotations under her circumstances.

“You and most others around here.” He told her, “How’s your symptoms?”

“Normal. More nightmares than usual.”

Elan huffed and moved back to speak with her seriously, “I don’t buy it. Your weight's dropping, Sara. You need to eat and sleep more regularly.”

She shook her head, “I’ll sleep when this project’s done.” She grumbled. Elan seemed to catch that she didn’t truly mean that, but boy did she want to mean it.

Elan placed an eye patch over Sara’s eye. This was a permanent metal patch, waterproof and sealed completely over her eye socket. It could only be removed by a doctor for checkups. It did nothing to cover the grisly scars that ran from her eye to her ear in torn lines, but Sara could fool herself into thinking battle scars were sexy and keep her mind off of their existence.

Elan made some final notes on his clipboard about her checkup. It seemed like an opportune time to ask— she didn’t know who else she would ask, anyway.

“Doctor?” Elan stopped and looked to her with a questioning smile, “Could someone in my condition make the journey to Andromeda?”

The question seemed to catch him off guard. He immediately set down his notes to give her his full attention, going so far as to pull up his chair and settle in for a discussion.

“I… suppose.” He said, after some deliberation, “If you kept up your sleep schedule and your weight I don’t see why not. But I’ll be honest with you Sara, there’s no way to really know. GH-1033 hasn’t been studied enough. I can assume that stasis would have little to no effect but there’s no guarantee of that. Are you considering it?”

She hadn’t been actively considering it, not until she’d blurted out the question to Elan. But some part of her had its own feelings, something in her subconscious telling her what it had already decided, and she beginning to agree.

“Yeah.” She replied, “I just worry about the stress that would be put on my body.”

“You may experience a slight decrease in lifespan, should the situation prove extreme, but there’s no way to know that it will.” Elan grabbed his clipboard and took some new notes, “You think on it and let me know. You will need a medical pass, but I’ll be more than happy to write one up for you if you decide to go.”

Elan stood from his chair and reached into a cabinet, pulling out a fresh bottle of medication to replace her empty bottle. “Be very careful with that patch, if you feel any water leaking in then we’ll have to replace it.” Then he handed her a data chip, sealed in a small bag for safety, “As for your more recent request, I’ve set you up with an extranet counseling service. This chip will connect you with them in a private channel. Their therapy programs are some of the best we’ve got.”

Sara took the chip and stood. The patch was almost unnoticeable, and after a quick check of herself she smiled at Elan, “Thank you doctor.” 

“Anytime.”

It wasn’t often that one could consider their doctor to also be their friend, but wonders never ceased.

Sara went home that night and sat in front of her laptop for a long time. Therapy wasn’t something she’d gotten much of over the years. Physical therapy sure, but not mental therapy— there was a strange feeling within the Ryder family, the need to be Strong. Any mental therapy Sara had gotten in the past had not been truthful therapy, careful to never reveal things about her family that troubled her so. Sara didn’t know how her father felt about therapy, she’d never asked, but she knew that trying to ignore what had happened to her would eventually affect her work, and that was something she could not allow.

So she plugged the chip into her laptop and was connected. “Welcome Sara Ryder.” A robotic voice spoke, “Your remote therapy session will begin momentarily.”

She hoped this time would change her mind.

—

When Sara walked into work only slightly late, her team was huddled around Lucille’s desk. They were watching something on her computer with expressions of shock and sadness.

“Sara!” Sorenna waved her over, “Come see, quickly!”

So Sara went, slotting herself between Sorenna and Kallo. On the screen was a news report from the Citadel.

“The SSV Normandy has been destroyed by an unknown assailant. Alliance Military correspondents have confirmed that Commander Shepard is Missing in Action, and has presumably died in the crash. The total number of casualties from the Normandy is still being tallied. Commander Shepard is best known for her efforts against the Geth in the battle of the Citadel one month ago—”

“Geez.” O’Connell slowly shook his head, “Amazing how quickly heroes can become victims.”

“I’m surprised anyone would attack the Normandy, with it now being famous and all.”

Teon hummed, “Didn’t the Normandy have that new state-of-the-art stealth drive? How were they detected at all?” 

Sara could say that she had only been so in sync with one person: her twin brother. The two of them had the same idea at the same time every now and then, their eyes lighting up with the same lightbulb that they were so used to. It was known, it was routine, it was unmistakable.

Sara had never experienced that sync with another, until now. She saw, at the same moment she came to the realization, that Kallo had come to the same conclusion she did. His eyes snapped to hers, and both of them straightened with the same lightbulb moment.

“Stealth drives…” She muttered, just to make sure Kallo was on the same page as her.

“The Normandy.” He nodded.

“That’s it!” The two exclaimed at once, in joy and excitement at being on the same page. They startled the rest of the group in the process, but neither had much mind to notice. Sara bolted to her desk with Kallo hot on her heels. She pulled out her laptop and began typing fast and furious.

“Why didn’t we think of this before?” Sara asked the room at large, although she wasn’t expecting an answer.

“Think of what?” Lucille asked instead as the group crowded around Sara’s chair.

“The answer to the problem.” Kallo grinned, hand on Sara’s shoulder, gripping her in his excitement.

Sara began pulling up blueprints of Salarian warships— those that were readily accessible, at any rate. “The SSV Normandy SR-1 was built with a stealth drive powered by an experimental drive core.” Kallo explained to them at the same time, “This was a design mesh between Human and Turian engineering. Not long after, STG got their hands on the stealthing mechanics and applied it to Salarian dreadnoughts. We don’t need guns on the Tempest.”

Sorenna gasped, “We can use stealth, that’s brilliant!” She exclaimed.

O’Connell was the only one who seemed unconvinced. “Brilliant?” He asked, “You got that idea from a news report of a stealth drive obviously failing and killing the crew.”

“We could update any stealth drive ourselves, something more durable since we don't have to deal with the weight or hassle of forward guns.” Teon piped up, leaning partially over Sara to examine the blueprints she had pulled up with narrowed eyes.

“Besides,” Kallo supported, “the Tempest will be faster than a military ship. The point is to evade and escape danger, a stealth drive would give them an edge.”

Sara took down notes, “Something that works with our drive core, something more robust to accommodate for Andromeda unknowns-- and to make sure we’re not a repeat of the Normandy-- but if we can acquire the blueprints we can start construction.”

“And meet that two year time frame.” Teon nodded firmly, decisively, “It’s our best bet.”

When it came to blueprints, Teon tended to be the last stop for the crew. If he approved, then all their work moved forward, even Lucille agreed with his judgments. “Our only shot.” She said, returning to her desk, “I’ll put in a request to Initiative HQ, see if they can work out an informational trade with the Alliance or the Turian Hierarchy.”

And that was that. With renewed faith and energy they all returned to their desks to get back to work, finally having the missing element they needed to make their ship a reality.

—

It was dark. It was dark, and dirty, and bloody, and the fire just kept coming. Guns blasting over and over, bullets flying all around, so close to hitting their mark. 

Sara, bloodied and bruised, taking it all without fear.

“Kallo?”

A hand on his arm, and it all fell away. The darkness melted away to reveal a sunset, deep oranges and reds painting the jungle in a beautiful array.

He wasn’t on the Citadel. This was Sur’Kesh, his home planet. This was the engineering wing, the back patio which was deserted as most were heading home for the day. That was Sara, touching his arm and snapping him out of his memories of fire and pain and blood.

“Hey,” She uttered gently, a tone he didn’t often hear, “you still with me?” 

It only took a moment to realize how far into his mind he’d slipped, and the thought only frustrated him, “Yeah.” He replied, shifting a little uncomfortably, “Of course.” Sara was not convinced, because of course she wasn’t. It was scary, how fast she’d come to know him. “We were talking about your eye, right? Does it still hurt?”

“Not anymore.” She told him, resisting the urge to touch the patch, “I’ve gotten used to it. Everything’s a bit… _limited_ without both my eyes. Feels like my right needs to work twice as hard to compensate sometimes, but it gets better every day.” She looked at him with that little smile, one she seemed to reserve for him, and the thought of that brought him pause. “I’ve noticed, by the way. None of you approach me on my left, not ever. And I know you started that.”

He shrugged, feeling a little too _seen._ “I didn’t tell them to do it.” He told her honestly, because he really hadn’t. He hadn’t been in the state of mind to think of such things beyond himself. “I guess they just caught on.” He finally managed to look her in the eye then, letting her calm disposition calm him. “You’re alright?”

“Yeah,” She said far too quickly, “I’m fine.”

He shot her a look, a look she clearly read as “yeah right”. He kept the look right where it was until Sara crumpled under it, like he knew she would. “Don’t look at me like that,” She pleaded, “you know I can’t lie to you.”

“Then don’t.” He replied simply.

“I’ll be fine.” She assured him, a little desperately, so he dropped it. He didn’t miss her sigh of relief when he didn’t push. “How’re you handling all this? You’ve been spacing out a lot lately.” She asked in lieu of talking about her own feelings.

Now it was Kallo’s turn to feel put out, “Yeah.” He sighed, “I’m sorry, it’s just— I can’t stop seeing…”

“Oh, Kal…” She whispered, something heavy in her eyes. She leaned forward to look at his face, “Don’t let yourself get lost in the ghosts.” She told him, the same way Alec had told her.

“I can’t help it.” He scrubbed at his eyes, “It keeps playing over and over, I’m still there and I can’t— I… It’s hard not to see her face in my mind and wonder if I could have done more.”

“You did everything you could. We both did.”

“We made a lot of mistakes.” He insisted, “I can’t stop going back there and noticing every one. What if I could have saved her?”

He didn’t want to look Sara’s sadness in the face, so he didn’t. But she touched his arm and kept her hand there, pulling him out of his spiral, pulling him back to the present.

“Look at me.” She asked— nay, she _demanded_. It was gentle, it was careful, but it was a demand, and he complied. He met her gaze, and he kept it. “From now on, when you realize you’re lost and thinking about that place, I want you to consciously think about this moment instead.”

“This moment?” He asked quietly.

“Yes. You, me, and the Sur’Kesh sunset.” And something about the way she said it pulled at him, stole his breath, left him open and vulnerable. “I want you to replay this moment over and over again until those memories fade away.” He looked back at the sunset, its colors more pronounced than before, and spent a moment memorizing the scene. “Even if it comes up every day, come back here. Think about the warm air, the colors on the clouds, the sun over the horizon, and think about me. We’re safe here. We survived, and we’re safe. So come back here.” And he felt brave, then, with her hand still on his arm seeping warmth into his skin. He turned back to her, naked in his emotions, and let them both bask in the moment. The sun splayed light on her face, through her hair, casting her in pure fire. “Can you do that?” She asked him, never losing his eyes.

And he didn’t know, not for sure. But… “I can certainly try.” He smiled for her, open, _raw_. “It’s not easy to forget someone like you.”

She laughed, and suddenly everything seemed okay, “Good.”

Neither knew who had moved first, who had started it, but they moved. Suddenly their hands were clasped tightly, fingers threaded together, arms touching from their wrists to their shoulders. They hung on, and they did not let go.

“I’m here for you.” She promised.

“And I for you.” He promised back.


	7. Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You can’t help me.” She told him immediately, with conviction.
> 
> “You don’t know that.” He replied, indignant.
> 
> Then the door opened without warning, and Kallo stepped back in shock. The sight that greeted him made him feel as if his heart had stopped.
> 
> Sara was leaning heavily against a cane, looking desperately weak. Oxygen tubes were connected to her nose, taped to her face leading down to her arm, where a portable oxygen bag was strapped to her bicep. Her eyes were a little unfocused, and her entire body was shaking with the effort of standing there.
> 
> “I do know that.”
> 
> \--
> 
> Sara and Scott sign on to the Initiative, and the Tempest hits a snag. As they attempt to solve the problem Sara falls ill, and reveals her deepest secret to her closest friend, bringing them closer in the process.

Weeks went by in the blink of an eye. Weeks of hard work slaving over two classes of ships, trying to meet the timeframe the Initiative required.

Their request to acquire stealth drives for the Tempest had been accepted, but integrating it into the ship itself was another beast entirely. It took up all their time, long days and late nights and weekends. The group often went to one of their apartments to continue work when their office’s were forced to shut down, having dinner together, working in their pajama’s together before passing out one by one on the floor, only to keep working the following morning. Lucille liked to cook for them, and it all seemed so ordinary despite being anything but.

The Bravo ships were coming along significantly faster. The blueprints for those ships had been relatively simple, and after weeks of work a prototype ship had been built, and was ready for testing. When the day arrived most of the engineering wing were gathered behind the building on their private patio, talking and mingling amongst one another. So many professionals, and Sara felt so at home.

Lucille and Sara had moved to the edge of the patio to talk a little more privately. Lucille seemed to have something on her mind, and Sara didn’t mind listening to whatever it was. They had glasses of wine in their hand— Lucille had allowed the entire wing the rest of the night off to celebrate their accomplishment, and no one begrudged them some good alcohol.

“I hear your father accepted a Pathfinder position.” Lucille began after a short time of contemplation.

“You’d be the first.” She was the first, which Sara had found surprising. Either no one had really heard that Alec had become the Pathfinder, or no one had connected the dots to her yet. Both options seemed a little too good to be true.

“The higher-ups were buzzing about it.” Lucille laughed lightly, “It’s a lot to handle, I’ll bet.” 

“You’ve no idea.” Sara muttered, taking a larger gulp of her wine than she probably should have.

Lucille watched her for a short time, some questions dancing behind her eyes, wondering which she should ask. Finally she settled on one, “Are you going with him?”

“What, to Andromeda?”

“Why not?” She asked with a light shrug of her shoulders, “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Sara couldn’t deny that. She couldn’t deny anything, really. With a sigh she bit at her lip, “I’ve been thinking about it.” She admitted quietly.

“Something wrong?” 

“I’m…” She groaned a little, “I’m scared to tell them.” Sara nodded to their little group, standing by the railing chatting— Kallo wasn’t there, of course. She knew where he was right now.

Lucille watched her carefully for a moment, tilting her head, “You mean you’re scared to tell Kallo.”

Sara sputtered for a moment, looking at Lucille incredulously. She had no idea Lucille had figured out so much. “I—” She coughed, trying to retrieve her train of thought, “No, I mean all of them.”

Lucille had a little smile on her face, “Alright, alright. Fair enough.” Lucille paused for a moment to take a cigarette out of her pocket, lighting it quickly. Lucille didn’t smoke very often, and Sara wasn’t sure what her smoking now really meant. It seemed to give Lucille a moment to think, at any rate. She blew out a long trail of smoke before she spoke again, “If there were no barriers, would you go?”

“Well… Yeah.” She replied, “I think I would.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

Lucille took another long drag. Sara watched the smoke as she exhaled, floating upwards in swirls. 

“Not being good enough.” She lied, blatantly, “Wondering if I’d be an asset.” She didn’t attempt to even hide this lie, and Lucille saw straight through her.

“Oh shut up Sara,” She rolled her eyes, “you're one of the most intelligent people in this facility— hell, on this whole damn planet— you know that.”

“In the shadow of my father, good with numbers isn’t good enough.”

“And you are not your father.” Lucille placed her hand on Sara’s shoulder, getting her to turn enough to look at her boss— no, her friend. “The Initiative needs minds of your caliber. Maybe instead of running from whatever it is you’re running from, it’s time you faced it. You have talent, and a hell of a lot of skill. The last thing you should be doing is discounting that, you wouldn’t be here otherwise.” She smiled then, “And if you do decide to go, you’ll have our support.”

And what else could she do but return that smile three fold? So she did. “Thanks Luci.”

“Anytime.”

Anything more Lucille may have wanted to say was cut off by a sudden sound. An engine, faraway at first but rapidly coming in their direction. The entire wing rushed over to the railing overlooking the jungle, looking up at the sky and waiting. Sara pushed her way to the front with Lucille on her heels, coming to rest beside their team as they waited.

Finally, the roar got so loud it shook the patio. Then, one of the Bravo prototype ships raced overhead, loud and fast, with a big gust of wind to accompany it’s flyby of the facility. The cheers of their department roared louder than the engine, everyone congratulating and celebrating on a successful build, their first successful build. 

And inside that cockpit, Sara knew that Kallo was having the time of his life. In front of them he made the ship do a loop, simply to show off, to give them something to laugh again. Then he flew the ship past, much slower this time, and they all waved and laughed and smiled.

Sara could have sworn she could see Kallo turning to look at them. And if she imagined him seeing her in that crowd, seeing her and keeping his gaze there, well, that was nobody’s business but hers.

Not long after Kallo brought the ship back in to land. Diagnostics proved their prototype was perfect for the Initiative’s needs, and more would be made in earnest. But that was tomorrow. Tonight, the wing was out on the patio having a party, taking a break from the grueling work over those long months. 

The picnic tables were being used for card games and gambling. On the grass people sat and talked and drank. On the empty portion of the patio people danced to music playing softly over a set of speakers that had been hastily set up. It played a vast combination of music from several planets, fast songs and slower songs for variety.

The Tempest crew had set themselves up at the bar that had been assembled along the only wall of the patio. Sorenna was exceedingly drunk, the rest of them were in various stages of pleasantly tipsy. Kallo and Teon had only had a few sips, and weren’t feeling the effects quite yet.

As Kallo watched the celebration he spied Sara sitting alone at a bench along the far railing, working via her omni tool. He watched her a moment, exasperated and fond all in one breath, amused she was still working yet not surprised in the slightest. He had half a mind to grab her and drag her over for drinks.

Sorenna caught him staring and leaned over with a drunken grin, “You liiiiiike her.” She teased.

Kallo glanced at her, “Of course I like her, how could she be a friend otherwise?”

Sorenna laughed and coughed in the same breath, “Noooononononono.” She insisted, “You _reeeeeeally_ like her.”

“You’re drunk, Sora.”

“Thank the goddess!” Sorenna exclaimed, taking another gulp from the wine bottle she’d swiped, “You’re in die— en— _denial_.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Kallo stood and started off toward Sara; Sorenna was amusing while drunk, sure, but he didn’t want to leave Sara there all by herself. He waved back over his shoulder, “Try not to pass out.”

“You should tell her before she’s gone!” Sorenna called back. Kallo resolutely ignored her, but the snickering from Teon and O’Connell did not go unnoticed.

Sara hadn’t noticed him approaching. He went to the railing just beside her and leaned to look over her shoulder.

“Still doing calculations?” He asked. He only mildly startled her, but she recovered quickly, “You could enjoy the party, you know.”

She gave him a slightly guilty smile, “I could, but there’s a lot left to do.”

“We’ll do it tomorrow.” He decided for her, leaning down to turn her Tool off himself. She huffed at him, but not unkindly. “Relax.”

Something about the word put a spark of laughter in her eye, but she didn’t comment on it, and he didn’t ask. “If you insist. We could be working, though…”

Kallo rolled his eyes at her, “Life is more than work. I admire your ethics, but Sora's right. You need to take time for yourself once in awhile.”

She scoffed at him, “You’re one to talk. Don’t think I don’t know you sneak into the office at night.”

“Only sometimes.” He defended himself, “While the rest of you sleep for eight hours a night, I spend seven doing whatever I want.”

“Yeah, like what?”

“Usually catching up with old classmates and colleagues from flight school. We have a few long-term extranet games running. I like keeping up with the gossip.” He smiled wistfully, “Tal'Isha's about to have a baby.”

Sara noted his smile and twisted a little in her seat to face him better, “Do you miss it?” She asked him.

“The school?”

“Flying all the time. You seemed pretty happy up there, in that cockpit.”

Unsure of where this question had really come from, he cocked his head and decided to answer, “Well yeah, of course I do. I think when the Tempest is done I’ll look for another job with more flying involved, maybe a commercial pilot or something.”

She seemed to be considering something, something that made her nervous. “What about flying the Tempest?” She asked him, quietly, as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask it. He gave her a curious look, not expecting a question like that.

“I’m not going to Andromeda.” He told her with a confused tone.

“Sure. But if someone told you right this moment that you could go to Andromeda, would you?”

And that… was something he hadn’t thought about in a while. Not that he _hadn’t_ thought about it, there’d just been too much to do. Now, though… “I… don’t know.” He replied.

She nodded slowly and twisted her fingers together nervously, “Kal, how… what would you say if I told you I was going to Andromeda?”

And well, that was all the confirmation he needed to know that she was, in fact, going. He knew her well enough to know. She hadn’t mentioned it, and he didn’t know why, but he wasn’t going to press. He would wait until she was ready to tell him in no uncertain terms.

“I’d say it sounds like something you’d go for.” He told her with a hint of a teasing tone. He leaned forward to capture her gaze, trying to lighten her mood, “Unless you’d loosen up once in a while.”

“I’m not that bad!” She protested with righteous indignation that held no bite whatsoever.

“I’ve never been given evidence to compare.” He grinned, and the look of fake outrage on Sara’s face threw him into a fit of laughter— it was one of his favorite classic Sara expressions.

While he got over his laughter Sara looked to the dancers. She got an idea then, and jumped up out of her seat without warning, startling Kallo and stopping his fit. “Come dance with me.” She grinned, grabbing his arm firmly.

Kallo pulled back a little, thrown off and unsure, “Dance with you?” He asked. Sara didn’t force him to the floor, but she didn’t let go of his arm either. She gently pulled, waiting for him to follow. And follow he did— what else could he do?

“You told me to enjoy the party.” She told him with a smirk on her face. Kallo wondered if he was blushing. He was certainly flustered enough to warrant it.

“Well yeah, but—”

“Relax.” They were nearing the dance floor, and even though he protested Kallo still followed willingly.

“But I don’t know how to—”

She laughed gleefully, “You know I do. It’s easy, I promise.” She pulled him onto the floor to slightly emptier patch, weaving between couples who didn’t pay them any mind. Sara put his left hand on her waist, and took his right hand with her left. Her right hand moved to his bicep and held him there firmly, confidently. “Just follow my lead, like this:” She started to move. Her steps were simple and repetitive, bringing them to a slow sway in a circular motion. “Step once, twice, thrice… see?” She grinned as he got the hang of the rhythm, watching their feet move in tandem. Sara was leading, but no one but them would have noticed that fact. “Not so hard, is it?”

After a moment he felt confident to look up at her face instead of their feet, and he managed to keep their pace without looking. “This is considered dancing to humans?” He asked incredulously, “Salarian dance is much faster. I never got the hang of it.”

“Well there’s a lot of different kinds of dancing,” Was— was she _blushing_? “But this is more about the person you’re dancing with than the dance itself.”

“Oh.” He replied dumbly, and mentally kicked himself. She seemed to notice it, and she giggled to herself. “In that case, it’s…” He cleared his throat, feeling a little too flushed for his liking, “not bad.”

She grinned at him, pulling him in a little closer. Somehow that closeness made him feel a little more confident, like he wasn’t about to screw it all up. She _wanted_ to dance with him. “You like it.” She said quietly, only loud enough for him to hear her. Like they were sharing a secret.

Yeah, he was _definitely_ blushing, “…Maybe.” He muttered. A secret that would stay right here, on this floor, in this space. That only made her smile more— made her smile genuine, without a hint of sarcasm for miles.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” She told him, “I like it too.”

Kallo felt himself relax then. He let go and allowed himself to enjoy the moment, twirling her around for the sake of it. The action made her laugh, light and sweet, and he’d never felt freer.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, their crew was watching from the bar with amused and curious stares. Sorenna in particular was very pleased with herself.

“Twenty credits.” She slurred, “Cough it-t up.”

“I don’t know if one dance signifies anything.” Teon argued weakly, rather pathetically. They all knew precisely what they were witnessing.

“Look at their faces.” She insisted, “Cooome on, pay up-p.”

The crew begrudgingly paid their bet off to Sorenna with only minor complaints. She seemed quite proud of herself indeed, counting up her winnings as if she’d just won the lottery.

“I totally called it, they’re not— _hic_ — not even subtle.”

“I wonder when those two will get a clue.” O’Connell asked aloud.

“Knowing them? Probably never.” Teon sighed, leaning back into the bar, “Should we stage an intervention?” He asked the group at large.

“No.” Lucille immediately laid down the line, and they weren’t going to cross it, “The job comes first. They can eye each other all they want when the Tempest is done.” Sorenna laughed between hiccups, chugging the rest of the wine from her bottle. “You’re going to have a nasty hangover tomorrow if you don’t stop.”

Sorenna let out an affirmative sound around the bottle. When it was drained she slumped forward with a gasp, “Oh, I’m sure I will.” She giggled to herself, and didn’t stop giggling for a long time.

The rest of them just watched, and enjoyed the night together with no rush, nowhere to be, and no reason to ruin a moment that was, in their mind, absolutely perfect.

—

Scott was rubbing his temples in that certain way, the way he only did was Sara was doing something incomprehensibly _stupid_. She watched, knowing what he was doing, completely undeterred.

“Andromeda.” He muttered through their video call, “You’re going with dad to Andromeda.”

“If my medical pass is accepted.” She confirmed with a nod, “I sent it in this morning.”

“Why?” He asked, a little desperately, “You, of all people?”

“Why not?” She replied, just to rile him up. It worked like a charm, Scott groaning loudly and nearly smacking his forehead into the table. “Listen, okay? What chances do we have here? Dad has ruined our family name here in the Milky Way. Finding any kind of success… the cards are stacked against us. The Initiative has already given him the Pathfinder role. Our family name will be relatively accepted. It’s a new start, a place where we’ll have a much better chance at making a name for ourselves.”

Scott shook his head, “Dad would want us as part of his Pathfinder team. Or me, anyway. Maybe you, too.”

“That’s not forever,” She insisted, “you can quit at any point if you’re not comfortable. I’m sure there’d be other ways you could help the Initiative, we’ll have far greater chances in Andromeda than we will here. What’s the point in staying?”

Scott seemed a little confused by the question, which is how Sara knew she had hit her mark, “This is…” he struggled, “home?”

She laughed bitterly in response, “Home? Since when has any portion of this Galaxy been home? Think about it Scotty, with your hard work ethic and skills in protection, combat, strategy, there’s a lot of people who would need those skills in Andromeda. Building colonies in strange lands, what about the chance of hostile threats? Your working aptitude would be a major asset, on dad’s team or otherwise.” Scott wasn’t convinced, she she could see that he was thinking about it, so she kept going, “What’s stopping you from considering this?”

“Dad, mostly.” He replied, ever honest.

“This is about our futures, not dad’s. I want both of us to have the chance to see amazing things, and do amazing things. To do meaningful things for people and to help people. A whole Galaxy of worlds no other human has ever seen before, stars where we can name our own constellations. It’s the chance of a lifetime. We’ll never get another one.”

He leaned forward, a little overwhelmed, “But why are _you_ going? You, specifically. This is way out of left field, sisi.”

“Is it?” She asked him, and that seemed to take the edge out of his argument. “I don’t have a lot of time left, you know that. Do you really think this galaxy is just going to forget about what dad’s done before I’m six feet under?”

That was a heavy hitter, and Sara did feel a little guilty that she’d pulled out the illness card, but he knew she was right. “No,” He confirmed, “I suppose not.”

“I don’t want you to come because of me, it’s your decision.” She assured him gently, to make up for the blow she’d just brought out, “I just think that both of us will have a much better chance in Andromeda than we ever will here.”

He thought about it. He thought about it for a solid minute, silent and considerate, thinking over every option as he always did.

“We’d stay together?” He asked. For a moment he was a kid again, watching Sara being taken away on a stretcher, and she knew it. 

“Through every moment.” She promised, “I can't do this without my other half.”

She could see the exact moment that she had him. She could see it in his face, the resigned look, the one that screamed ‘how could I ever say no to you?’ She knew she had him, but kept her excitement back until he said it out loud.

Finally, he did. “Well, you’re right about one thing… As much as I don’t want to admit it, there aren’t any more chances here.” Sara held her breath, holding in her cheers, “ _If_ you get that medical pass, I’ll… tell dad to sign me on.”

“YES!” Sara finally cheered, leaping out of her chair in celebration. “This will be amazing Scotty, you’ll see!”

He laughed, still a little unsure but feeling more confident in the face of her excitement, “Tell me that when we get there. You call me once you get word back, you hear me?”

She grinned from ear to ear, “Absolutely, I promise.”

“Good. I’ll hold you to this.”

“Trust me Scott, I’m holding myself to this too.” 

He didn’t seem to have much left to say. Scott, when overwhelmed, had a tendency to fall to contemplative silence. So she let their call end for the night with two taps to her chest, pleased that her family would be sticking together— for better or worse.

—

It was a slower day in the Tempest office. The crew was working quietly, serene in their own thoughts. As she worked Sara started to get a call through her Tool— she glanced at the caller ID before answering absently, continuing her calculations.

“Hey Del.” She answered, making more notes.

“Afternoon Sara. Administration would like to see you.”

Sara stopped dead in her work, looking down at her Tool as if she were looking at Del. “What’s going on?”

She imagined Del was shrugging, “I’m not sure, they just wanted you to report in immediately. Didn't sound like anything bad was happening.”

“Alright, thanks Del. I’ll be right over.”

Sara turned off her Tool and stood, looking over at Lucille. She waved Sara out without a glance or a word, as usual, so Sara briskly left for the Administration building.

Sara had only been inside once or twice for meetings with Lucille. Normally she wasn’t interested in the bureaucratic nonsense, so she didn’t associate with the higher ups. The building was nice at least, the nicest the facility had to offer.

The front lobby was empty when Sara arrived, save for Del who sat at her front desk working. When Sara walked in she stood with a broad smile, and the two shared a brief hug. Sara didn’t get to see Del all that often, but the two had many common interests and she enjoyed their time together.

Del led Sara to one of the offices on the higher floors. There wasn’t much of anyone walking around at this time, and most of the rooms were quiet. Del stopped at a double door and knocked three times, opening the door when a woman’s voice yelled for them to enter.

Del held the door for Sara and prompted her to enter. Inside, at a large desk near the window, Sara saw someone she never thought she’d meet face to face: Jien Garson herself. She grinned widely and jumped up from her chair, bustling over to Sara with the energy of an excited puppy.

“Ah, Sara!” She grabbed Sara’s hand, her grip tight and sure, “Good to see you.”

“And you, Ms Garson.” Sara replied politely, a little too stunned for much else. Jien looked at Del without releasing Sara’s hand.

“Thank you Del, that’ll be all.” Del left without a word, leaving the two women to talk. “It’s been a long time.” She said, finally dropping Sara’s hand.

“Yes… I wasn’t aware you had an office here.”

Jien laughed, “Oh, I don’t.” She replied, leading Sara to one of the chairs in front of her desk, “I’m just borrowing this space for my visit here, checking in on the progress. Coffee?”

“No, thank you.”

Jien folded her hands on the desk, her face shifting to something more serious. Sara sat forward; time for business. “I hear the Tempest is coming along nicely.”

“It is!” Sara lit up, “I imagine we’ll begin construction in a month or two. The ships will be beautiful. You won’t be disappointed, ma’am.”

“Lucille was always one to get things done, and we assembled the best. But that’s not why I’ve called you here.”

That toned down Sara’s excitement immediately. Jien visibly noticed. “Is something wrong?” Sara asked her.

“Not particularly.” Jien reassured her gently, “I noticed your request for a medical pass, actually. I think this is something we need to discuss in person.”

“Ah.” Sara sobered, “Yes, I think so.”

“You want to join the leap to Andromeda?”

“Yes ma’am, with my family.”

“I see.” Jien leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other, her hands still folded in front of her, “Alec recommended you, said you’d be able to handle the jump. I looked into GH-1033 but I’ll admit, what I found was very vague. Do you think you can make the six hundred year jump safely?”

“I think so.” Sara nodded, although she wouldn’t pretend to be sure, “I’ve done what research I can, and everyone I’ve spoken to believes that stasis will have little to no effect on the illness itself. As for the medication, I’ll pack fifteen years worth in my luggage if I have to. Whatever it takes.”

Something changed in Jien’s face, a shift from contemplation to pity. Sara inwardly cringed, but controlled her face well enough. “Fifteen years is your life expectancy?” She asked, a note of sadness in her voice.

“Roughly. It’s hard to know for sure.”

“I understand.” Jien nodded, her face shifting again. Sara was quickly realizing that Jien was an open book, her emotions there for everyone to see. “I will be frank, Ryder-- we need geniuses like you. We need your mind, your expertise. We have a lot of engineers, but I don’t need just another engineer, just a mathematician. I need a dreamer. I need someone who can look at the numbers and find the best, usually unconventional solution without the red tape. I just worry that that will put too much stress on you and further provoke your illness.”

“It might.” Sara told her honestly, “But I honestly don’t care. I want to contribute however I can, no matter how difficult it is. Besides, I’m sure that fifteen years after our arrival we’ll have enough infrastructure going that you won't need my mind anymore.”

Jien smiled without humor, “It sounds so insensitive. I hate to agree with you.”

Sara shrugged lightly, decidedly uncomfortable with the conversation. But she stuck with it, keeping herself in check, “When you live your life knowing you have a solid expiration date, you learn not to take offense to insensitivities. It’s a fact of life. All I want is to spend that time to the fullest, and that means Andromeda. That means taking the risk, I don’t care if it accelerates my illness.”

This time Jien gave her a genuine smile, something almost wistful. “You are so much like your father. Same drive, same passion.” Jien did not notice Sara flinching at that— or, if she did, she didn’t comment on it. “Here’s my offer: we’ll accept your pass and bring all the required medications to Andromeda— there may be cases of GH-1033 we won’t know about— in return you’ll serve on one of the Pathfinder ships as their engineer. In this time you’ll field questions and feed advice back to the Nexus teams, working in direct contact with Superintendent Kesh. She is a Krogan, I’m sure that won’t be an issue?”

“Not at all, ma’am.”

“Good. You help our teams, you’re in. Deal?”

Sara grinned from ear to ear, scooting forward in her chair, “I accept ma’am! As long as my family is there, of course. You will accept my brother?”

Jien nodded, “Your father wants him on the Pathfinder team. He’s in too. Both of you will be a little bit behind the curve, Alec has been working on the Pathfinder role for years now, but I’m sure you’re both up to the challenge.”

This brought Sara pause. Working on the role for years? That wasn’t… right…

Fucking hell.

“How long did you say he’s been Pathfinder?” She asked, brows furrowed, just to make sure she heard right.

“I think it’s been about four years now. He’s been training a team for the past two. He’s been invaluable to our Initiative efforts.”

Well, then. That was that. Sara didn’t let Jien see her sigh, but she felt her stomach drop to a pit of ice. She felt sick to her stomach. 

“Right… right, that sounds about right.” She said instead, to ensure Jien didn’t have any suspicions. “You want my mind, you’ve got my mind. Thank you ma’am, I won't let you down.”

Jien shook her hand again, “I know you won't. We’ll assign you to the Hyperion to start with, to assist your father. Once the Hyperion reaches the Nexus, you’ll work with Kesh and one of our Pathfinders. Probably your father but hey, life's full of surprises, isn't it?” Sara laughed along, but didn’t feel much like laughing at all. Jien didn’t notice; she opened an Initiative passport and stamped it with her seal. It was a passport with all of Sara’s information inside. “Welcome aboard, Ms Ryder. Now, go finish the Tempest. Can’t give the Pathfinders anything less than the best.”

Sara took the passport and stood, looking at the book a little longer than necessary before giving Jien a grin.

“Yes ma’am, thank you so much.”

Jien showed her out, shutting the door behind her. Sara took about three and a half steps down the hall before she had to stop, feeling nauseous. She leaned up against the wall for a moment, taking a deep breath. Feelings of betrayal, hurt and resigned acceptance swirled through her mind. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see through the lie her father had crafted, and that she’d fallen for it hook line and sinker.

But it was too late to go back on all this now. Too late to change anything, it was done. She just had to find a way to accept that.

She managed to calm her stomach enough to stand straight and leave the hall. She made her way back down to the lobby, which was still mercifully empty aside from Del. 

“Are you okay?” Del asked her before she could leave. Sara turned, surprised that Del had noticed, but the Salarian was watching her with deep concern on her face. “You look troubled.”

“Oh,” She waved Del off unconvincingly, “I’m fine. I got a ticket to Andromeda today.”

Del stood excitedly, ‘No! Really?” Sara nodded, “Me too!”

She gasped and pointed accusingly, “You never told us!”

That seemed to sober Del, and she curbed back her excitement, “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s… a complex problem.”

Sara studied her for a moment, “Are _you_ okay?” She asked carefully.

“I will be. I just need this kept quiet, is that okay? My family can’t know I’m here, doing this.”

“Yeah, I won’t tell anyone.” She said. Sara understood a thing or two about overbearing families.

“Thank you. I’ll be on Nexus working with the engineers. Exciting, isn’t it?”

“It is! We’ll hang out in Andromeda. It’ll be good to see a familiar face.”

Del grinned, “I wouldn’t miss it.”

At that moment Del started getting a call, so Sara left her with a silent wave. She went back to the office, wondering how she was going to tell her crew the news. 

When she walked in, a few of them looked up at her. “How’d it go?” Sorenna asked her, “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Sara grinned, hiding her passport behind her back. Her tone must have given away that something was up, because they all looked at her expectantly yet confused.

“What happened?” Lucille asked in her stern voice. Sara laughed and held her passport high.

“I’m going to Andromeda!”

Her crew erupted, quickly surrounding her and asking her a million questions at a time, demanding to know why she hadn’t told them her plan. Sara just laughed and answered what she could, and for a moment she could pretend that everything was normal.

—

It was a few days after Sara received her passport that they had a major problem. They were all in the office working along when Teon suddenly groaned aloud, throwing down his pen and holding his head in his hands.

“Our drive core isn’t going to work.” He announced with much disdain.

“What do you mean it wont work? We ran all the numbers.” Sorenna asked him. Everyone became focused on the conversation in an instant.

“Yes, but it’s taking up far more fuel than I expected it to. Who’s to say Heleus will have the resources required? If it was only a small amount that would be one thing but… no, we need an alternative.” Teon explained.

Kallo thought for a moment, “Well in that case we could… hmm.” He stopped to consider again, leaning back in his chair and staring into nothing to contemplate the idea he had.

“What?” Teon asked impatiently, “We could what?”

Kallo looked at him, “The ODSY does have its own power generation processes— it recycles the static energy it generates and filters it back into the core, no fuel required.”

“For the Arks, sure.” O’Connell piped up, “How do you expect to make a miniature functional version of the ODSY?”

“We could try,” Teon nodded slowly, thinking it over, “We just need the blueprints.”

“And who do you think will get you those blueprints?”

They all stared at one another. Then, as a unit, they turned to look at Lucille. The mother of cutting through the proverbial red tape.

Lucille stared at them, “If you think I can get my hands on ODSY blueprints—”

“We know you can.” Teon interrupted. 

Lucille hesitated. Then her shoulders slumped, cursing under her breath, “We're going to need solid proof that the ODSY would be viable.”

Teon seemed to grin beneath his helmet, “Well that's what we have a mathematician for, isn't it?” Teon looked at Sara expectantly, “You can calculate out all of our parameters. If anyone can tell us if the ODSY is mathematically viable, it's you.”

“Broadly.” Sara nodded firmly, “Give me a few days and I’ll give you a report.”

Lucille sighed and slumped back in her chair, “This isn't going to be an easy sell. If you're going to pull this off, I suggest you give as much detail as possible.”

“Done. Can I shelve my stealth drive calculations?”

“You may.”

“Thank you.”

Lucille straightened back up and put on her authoritative face, “Everyone else can carry on. If you need anything, you ask. We've got a lot of work to do people, no more distractions.”

So Sara got to work on these new calculations, and immediately recognized the deep complexity involved. It would take her a long time and a lot of effort to complete, so Sara poured herself into her work. She spent every waking moment on it, lost in the complexity, the beauty of the drive core they wanted to implement.

But Sara was not just focused on her calculations. She thought a lot about her father’s lies about the Initiative, going over everything he’d told her again and again. It ate away at her; most of his lies rolled right off her back, but this one… this one bothered her, and distracted her. So she focused harder on her calculations, effectively blocking out everything else. Soon she was losing track of the days.

Soon she was losing track of everything else, too.

Sara didn’t realize she’d overstepped her limits until it had been a few days. She didn’t realize that she had been so focused on her work, day and night, that she’d hardly eaten a meal each day. Beyond that, she’d forgotten one critical thing: she hadn’t had any of her medications in days.

Sara realized this on the fifth morning since getting those calculations. She woke up and immediately noticed that something was off. Sitting up the room was blurry to the point where she could hardly make out her hand in front of her face, much worse than it could be, even on bad days. Next she noticed her chest hurt terribly, and breathing was extremely difficult to manage. Confused and alarmed Sara tried to stand to reach her medications, but the moment she put weight on her legs a sharp pain shot through her entire body. She fell with an excruciating cry, tumbling to the floor, hitting her chin on the carpet. Her entire body shook with the aftershocks of pain, and she groaned and grunted with the effort of keeping herself together. She couldn’t stand, couldn’t see, could barely move.

And then she realized her mistake, and she panicked.

—

The morning moved into the afternoon, and Sara hadn’t shown up to work. That was a first. 

Kallo looked around a few times, waiting to see Sara appear in the doorway, but she never did. Sorenna noticed too, and the two of them shared an odd look, wondering where she was.

“Where’s Sara?” Kallo asked Lucille after a while.

“She called in sick.” She replied.

Sorenna and Kallo shared a shocked look, “She’s never called in sick, even when she _was_ sick.”

Lucille shrugged lightly, “Well, it happens. She said she’d be back on her feet by tomorrow.”

It didn’t really matter, in Kallo’s mind. Sorenna was right, Sara never missed work. This was new. This was… concerning.

And he didn’t understand why that bothered him so much.

Several days passed with no Sara showing up before Kallo finally told himself that enough was enough. He gathered up the tea he knew Sara enjoyed and went to her apartment. At the door he hesitated, wondering if this was a good idea, but what friend didn’t check up on a friend who was ill? He needed to know.

So he rang the doorbell, and he waited. When he didn’t get an answer he rang again, longer this time. “Sara?” He spoke, hoping she would hear, “It’s me.”

Then he heard noises on the other side. A grunt of pain and some shuffling only heightening his concern.

“What?” Sara grumbled through the door. She didn’t open it, and she sounded extremely annoyed. It caught Kallo off guard, and he realized suddenly that this probably wasn’t a good idea, but he was in it now— no way out but forward.

“Hi. Uh, listen… you’ve just been gone a few days and I was worried. I brought tea, thought it might make you feel better?”

There wasn’t an answer for a short time. Kallo had half a mind to call her again, but he didn’t have to. “I’m fine.” She told him through the door, sounding far from fine. She sounded… well, awful, if he was honest with himself. But she didn’t sound _sick_ , and that was stranger still.

“You don’t sound it. You sound…” His eyes widened when the word came to mind, “frail.” He finished weakly.

_“I am not frail.”_ She practically growled at him, but there wasn’t much bite. She didn’t seem to have the energy to sound particularly menacing, no matter how hard she was trying.

“I wasn’t suggesting—” Kallo sighed heavily and started over, “Can I come in? Please?”

Another pause, and Kallo waited. He couldn’t bring himself to leave, not now. “I don’t want you to see me like this.” She finally told him through the door.

“You’re sick.” He stepped closer to the door, almost leaning his forehead against it, “Everyone gets sick.” She didn’t answer him, but he could hear her breathing on the other side. Finally he relented, “Look, I'll just put this tea outside your door and leave, if you really don't want me. I just thought some company might be nice, and I'd hoped... I just want to help, so you recover faster.”

“You can’t help me.” She told him immediately, with conviction.

“You don’t know that.” He replied, indignant.

Then the door opened without warning, and Kallo stepped back in shock. The sight that greeted him made him feel as if his heart had stopped.

Sara was leaning heavily against a cane, looking desperately weak. Oxygen tubes were connected to her nose, taped to her face leading down to her arm, where a portable oxygen bag was strapped to her bicep. Her eyes were a little unfocused, and her entire body was shaking with the effort of standing there.

“I do know that.” She ground out, anger flashing in her glazed eyes. Kallo stared, mouth agape, startled and unsure. This was not in any script he’d imagined. “Get in before someone sees me like this.” She demanded, stepping back unsteadily to let him through. Kallo entered, having no idea of what else to do, letting the door shut behind him. Sara glared at him for a moment before sighing, some of the anger melting from her features. She walked back to her couch with a heavy limp, barely able to stay upright.

“Sorry.” She muttered, “I don't mean to be cross, but I'm about to rip these damn oxygen tubes out, so I hope you'll excuse me.” She said, sitting herself down with a groan of pain. This finally shook Kallo out of his shock, and he regained some of his composure.

“I’ll… go make tea.” He said. He was going to be here a while.

“If you want.” Sara replied without looking at him, and that was all the permission he needed. 

He made the tea on autopilot, wracking his brain trying to figure out what was going on. Sara had never mentioned anything like this, hadn’t talked about any accidents. Could a human illness cause such pain? He didn’t know. He suddenly realized he really didn’t know anything, and that scared him. He wondered what else he didn’t know.

Only one thing was certain. Sara needed help, whether she would admit to that or not.

He brought the tea in and set one of the mugs in front of Sara. He took the other end of the couch and sipped at his tea. He noticed her hands shaking terribly as she reached for the mug. She glared at her hand, watching it shake before grabbing the mug. She only spilled a drop before managing to pull it back to her lap.

“Okay.” He said, putting his own mug on the coffee table, “I need some answers here.”

She glanced at him, not drinking her tea yet. More like she was soaking up the warmth. It seemed to settle her hands a little, at any rate. “I’m sick.” She said after a heartbeat of contemplation.

He didn’t believe her. It didn’t sound right, didn’t sound real. He watched as she took a drink, managing not to spill over herself, although it was a near thing. Finally he slumped a little.

“You don’t have to tell me.” He muttered, “Just… just want to help.”

Silence, again. Kallo hated it. Normally their silences were filled with unspoken conversation, or comfortable companionship. Not this. Their silence had never been filled with such pain and anger. He _hated_ it.

Finally she seemed to relent, setting down her mug and falling back into the couch. She shifted herself a little, trying to get comfortable before giving up a lost cause. He watched her take a breath, steel herself, then speak.

“I’m sick, Kallo.” She told him, not looking at him. Kallo watched the emotions flickering on her face. Emotions that somehow reminded him of soul-crushing _weight_. “And not... not with an illness that goes away with a cup of tea and a few days rest.” She breathed, and trembled, and looked for all the world as if she was-- “I am terminally ill.” 

As if she was dying.

Kallo couldn’t breath for a few moments. How do you process a bombshell like that? How do you comprehend such a thing from a woman you thought you knew, who seemed otherwise normal. 

“…What?” He whispered, because he didn’t have the breath for anything else. Sara looked very uncomfortable as she shifted again, but she seemed to decide to bite the bullet anyway. 

“GH-1033.” She told him shakily, “It's a genetic regressive disorder. My body is... degrading from the inside out. My muscles, my organs, my brain. There's six stages in all, the higher the stage the worse-- and faster-- the degradation becomes. For now I'm on medications that slow down the damage, it numbs the pain and helps me think clearly, but I can't use those forever. In the not too distant future, I will die... and it will be unspeakably painful. I try not to think about it much.” Did he even know what breathing was? He wasn’t sure, at this point.

“Oh…” He let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, “Oh, Sara—”

_“Don’t.”_ Her head snapped to face him, anger in her eyes, a growl on her lips. Kallo reared back, “I don’t want your damn pity. I hate pity. You can just shove it.” 

He had never seen this side of Sara before. He’d never seen such anger, such soul-crushing pain. For someone so kind, so compassionate as Sara to feel such anger… Sara sighed then, realizing she had honestly scared him. He didn’t realize fear was what he felt until she turned away from him, and that fear was immediately replaced with shame. “…Sorry.” She muttered dejectedly, “I don’t trust people with this.”

He cleared his throat, trying in vain to calm himself down, trying to clear the lump that was forming. No way out but forward. “And does— _this_ ,” He motioned vaguely to her entire body with his hand, “happen often?”

“No. Hasn’t been this bad in years. I…” She stopped herself, and Kallo saw embarrassment in her face. Not anger or pain, just… embarrassment. That was confusing in it of himself, until she started stuttering. “Okay, look, I was just-- I was so focused on calculating our parameters for the ODSY that it was all I was thinking about. The next thing I knew I woke up a few days ago and couldn't stand. I'd been so focused on my work I forgot to take my medications for three days in a row.” She glanced at him, as if he was going to say something demeaning to her. He just nodded silently, urging her to continue, so she did. “I've never forgotten like that before. I've always been so careful, so I... may have scared myself. And I would have gone back to work, I can handle a little pain but—” She huffed, frustrated with herself, flushed and embarrassed by the whole situation, “It hurts to breathe. Haven't had to use these blasted things in years. It's humiliating.”

“Well…” Kallo cleared his throat, “I won’t pass any judgments here.” He assured her. Outwardly she merely shrugged, but he could see a little relief in her eyes. “There’s no cure?” He asked tentatively.

“None. Genetics are tough. So... there. Now you know. Don't go telling anyone, it'll ruin my reputation.”

He shook his head slowly, not understanding, “Does it really have to be such a big secret?” He asked her.

“Yes.”

That did not make him feel better, not at all. “But you could have been injured, and—”

“Kal.” She stopped him, looking him dead in the eye. There was a depth there that he had never seen before, and the realization of that floored him. Of how much she had experienced, how much she had survived, that she never exposed to the light. Like an ancient tree still standing in the exact place it had first sprouted thousands of years before, with the knowledge of ages hidden in its branches. 

“You don’t get treated the same when people know.” She told him straight, “I spent ten years of my life holed up in my house drugged off my ass to relieve a fraction of the pain. I chose to spend those years studying, and studying some more, and then I finally had medications and could go to school, and I worked and worked until my mind became what it is today. I worked through every hospital visit, every downward spiral, and the day I nearly died while doctors tried to figure out some way to pull me back. I worked my ass off, and the _second_ that this world finds out about it, that work wont matter anymore. None of it will matter anymore.” Kallo stared, stared until she continued, “So yes, it must be a secret. Jien Garson is a little different, an exception to the rule, and… and I suppose you are too. I can’t just talk about it. I’ve made it too far to stop now, so I will work as hard and as long as my body sustains me.”

Kallo swallowed hard, “Or until you collapse. Like now. That can’t be healthy.”

She looked at him, a little exasperated, a little fond. “I could, theoretically, die tomorrow. There will always be a hazard until the day I die. I will not waste away while I still have the chance to contribute something to this world.”

“But… but Andromeda?” He whispered again, like actual words were too forceful. Like they would shatter them both.

Sara’s lips pressed tight. She looked exhausted, and not just from the past few days. “I don’t have a chance here anymore, Kal. The galaxy wont forget my father’s crimes until long after I’m gone. The Initiative is different, they don’t care about my illness, they don’t care about my expiration date, they only care that I can do the work. I have no other option and nothing left to lose.”

He didn’t want to ask. He didn’t want to but he knew he had to. Not knowing would kill him more than knowing. “How long do you have?” He asked, managing to keep the tremble from his voice.

She seemed less hesitant to answer, “I won’t live to see my fortieth birthday. That’s now assuming stasis won't have an effect on me, which... I don’t know, it might. Gets scarier the more I think about it, actually.”

Kallo didn’t know whether it was still a bad idea, him coming here. He didn’t know anything anymore. The norms he thought he understood before had fallen away, and his questions were near endless. “I’m sorry.” He settled on apologizing, because that was just easiest, “I shouldn’t have barged in like this.”

He watched her think a moment before shaking her head, very slowly. “No.” She said, almost like the words were being forcibly pulled from her chest, “I’m glad you did. I want... I want to trust people. It's so hard, but I want to. I trust you.”

And that did not answer his questions, but it did warm something deep within him, and he supposed that that could be enough, if nothing else. But there was one question that ate away at him, and he would not be able to move forward until he asked. 

“You’ve been die-hard focused on your work for days at a time before.” He said, still quiet. She seemed to appreciate that, like full volume was too much to handle, and perhaps, he reflected, it truly was. “Why’s this different?”

Sara didn’t answer him for a little while. Her brows furrowed and her pupils moved back and forth, as if she were trying to focus on something. As if she was lost in a fog, and couldn’t find her bearings. “Got a lot on my mind.” She settled with saying, too deep in the haze as it was.

“Anything worth sharing?” He asked, unsure if it would help her to lay it all out aloud. 

She sighed, “I'm just... trying to figure things out. This whole Andromeda thing is getting more complicated than I wanted it to be. I mean the medical pass went through without a hitch, but I—”

“But…?” He prompted gently.

“It's my father.” She finally told him, “He lied again. I thought his appointment to the Pathfinder position happened relatively recently, but he accepted the role years ago-- long before I got here-- and he never said anything. I have to wonder why, and what he's planning. He's always planning something.”

Kallo made a noise in the back of his throat, something strange she hadn’t heard before. “How long have you been keeping score, Sara?”

She clenched her jaw tightly, “Since that first day in the hospital, when his first and last question was what it would take to-- to _fix_ me. To make me healthy enough to go to that fancy school for kid geniuses. Like I was something broken.” She breathed out a hard breath through her nose, shaking her head, trying to clear it, “I don't trust him to think of my feelings in this plot of his. But I can't call him out on it either, he's a bloody genius just like me, and he's got the experience to back it up. If I keep my mouth shut maybe… maybe I can make all this easier on Scott. Bringing it up now would only open old wounds.”

He nodded slowly, familiar with the inner workings of a cagey family, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She said, far too quickly, “Just gets exhausting after a while.”

“You’re not angry?”

She glanced at him, “Of _course_ I’m angry, but… hating him hurts too much. So I don’t.”

And well, that was that. Kallo got the feeling that he wasn’t going to be getting anymore answers out of Sara, judging by the way she was trying very hard to melt into the couch behind her. So he backed off, grabbed his mug and drank his now cooling tea.

“Thank you.” He said after a while. Sara turned sharply to look at him, wincing in the process.

“For what?” She asked, incredulous. Her eye was so comically wide Kallo couldn’t help but smile.

“For trusting me. It must have been difficult.”

Sara stared at him, something soft in her eye. For a moment her pain seemed to melt away, and a fondness so visceral shone through that Kallo was mentally floored. You don’t give that kind of look to just anyone, even he knew that.

In an extraordinary display of trust, Sara held out her hand for Kallo to take. And take it he did, no questions asked, holding her hand firmly. Her skin was warmer than it should have been, and her hand trembled in his his, a shake she couldn’t control even though she smiled.

“Kal…” She breathed, “You’re the only person in this entire galaxy who could truly hurt me. That's why I told you. Because I know you never would.”

How was it that she could steal his breath so easily? He didn’t know. But there was a little something in his chest, a little glow he’d not really noticed before, something warm that had come to life and was burning at the words, and he knew he was way out of his depth.

“…Not intentionally.” He finally muttered, and she grinned.

“Not intentionally.” She agreed. 

So they sat there and drank their tea, and the flame that had flickered to life in Kallo’s chest didn’t go out. Judging by the look on Sara’s face, a flame of her own was beating just as strongly.

And if they were both feeling it, well, Kallo couldn’t fault the feeling at all.


	8. Determination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teon waved him off, “You’re flirting constantly. We work in the same office, dumbass. Everyone knows.”
> 
> That got Kallo to drop his shoulders, sighing dramatically, “We’re not flirting. We tease each other, what’s wrong with that?”
> 
> Teon gave him a look, “ _Teasing_ is throwing quips at one another. _Flirting_ includes staring at her ass after the quips fly.”
> 
> That made Kallo blush wildly, and Teon preened in satisfaction. “I’m not—!”
> 
> “Hey, I’m not judging.” Teon interrupted purely to rile him up further, “She’s got a nice ass.”
> 
> \--
> 
> A dangerous gamble leaves Kallo questioning everything, and Sara with more than she can carry.

It was a peaceful day on Omega— well, as peaceful as a day could be on Omega, which is to say a gang war was currently in its death rattle a floor below, three bodies laid in an alley behind the bar, and some poor sod was getting beat to shit out the front door.

The bar itself seemed peaceful enough, from the outside. Patrons walked in and out— stumbled, more like— and a steady rhythm of music and chatter poured from the windows.

Then it all went to hell. Guns, yells and fists began to fly. A patron was thrown out of one of the windows. A fight that had started at the bar area had spread through the entire establishment before spilling out into the street, involving everyone outside who itched for a good fight. 

From these throngs a Salarian stumbled out in a panic. Anyone paying any attention would have witnessed this Salarian swearing up and down and sideways, running for his damn life. On his heels was a Quarian, holding a cube of some sort in his hand and laughing like a maniac. Just behind him was a human woman with tattoos, holding a smashed glass bottle in one hand, decking one of the patron with the other as she ran, who also employed a colorful array of curses to balance out the roaring laughter she couldn’t contain.

Kallo sprinted to their shuttle, which was mercifully sill there and mostly untouched. It was a little thing, two seats in front and two in back meant for discreet off-world supply runs. 

“You beat me to the punch!” Teon called back to Sara as they ran. They had more or less caught up to one another. Sara threw the broken bottle away with a grin.

“Someone had to do it!” She laughed loudly, filled with glee.

Kallo groaned aloud, “You’re both morons!” He screeched, “Shut up and RUN!”

The doors opened as they neared, and Sara dove head-first into the back seats of their shuttle. She groaned when her head his the far door, face-down laying across the seat. A moment later Teon dove into the far front seat, with Kallo jumping into the driver’s seat and closing the shuttle, starting it up in a hurry. From the bar several nasty looking Turians were advancing on their shuttle, with guns.

“Go _Go **GO!**_ ” Teon yelled, watching as they got closer.

 _ **“I am going!”**_ Kallo yelled back, still cursing under his breath.

Kallo took off without looking, shooting off into the depths of Omega. It was not hard for them to lose their pursuers— after all, this was business as usual on Omega.

Sara and Teon were howling with laughter, breathless and the adrenaline coursed through their veins. Sara was bleeding from a cut on her forehead, but they appeared otherwise unharmed, having the time of their lives.

“That was reckless.” Kallo grumbled, hands shaking horribly.

“Don’t act like it wasn’t a little bit of fun.” Sara quipped, leaning over the front seat. She draped her arms over Teon and Kallo, “Besides, if we hadn’t taken action we wouldn’t have gotten our blueprints. You have them, yeah?”

Teon held up the cube, containing the blueprints they required for part of the Tempest. Kallo was not impressed, briefly glancing over at Sara.

“You’re bleeding.” He observed mildly.

“Anything for the ship.” Teon piped up unhelpfully. That only got Sara going.

“That’s right!” She beamed, squeezing Kallo a little, “C’mon, you know you enjoyed it.”

Kallo held on to his annoyance for a moment more before the reality of his feelings set in. A smile slowly spread across his face, and despite himself he laughed.

“I hate you both.” He chuckled.

“You couldn’t hate us if you tried.” That only made Kallo giggle again, and Teon took it as a victory. He lifted his fist and bumped it against Sara’s, “Sara, you’re a badass.”

“So are you, buddy.”

They couldn’t leave Omega without the cut on Sara’s head being looked at, so they stopped at a medical clinic in a wealthier part of the station. It had its own landing pad, so Kallo set down their shuttle for Sara to hop out.

“I’ll be right back.” 

“Making us wait?” Kallo asked her, leaning back to catch her eye, “We might have to leave you behind if you take too long.”

Sara huffed as she walked away, waving over her shoulder, “Good thing I know you better.”

She disappeared through the doors, leaving the boys to wait. Kallo hadn’t really noticed, but he was watching the doors she had gone through, his gaze unwavering. Teon did notice, and after a few moments he groaned loudly to get Kallo’s attention, his arms thrown wide over the back of the seat.

“Geez, if I knew I was going to be a third wheel today I’d have stayed home.” He commented with a hidden grin. Kallo looked at him, feeling like he’d missed a joke.

“What? You’re not a third whe—”

Teon waved him off, “You’re flirting constantly. We work in the same office, dumbass. Everyone knows.”

That got Kallo to drop his shoulders, sighing dramatically, “We’re not flirting. We tease each other, what’s wrong with that?”

Teon gave him a look, “ _Teasing_ is throwing quips at one another. _Flirting_ includes staring at her ass after the quips fly.”

That made Kallo blush wildly, and Teon preened in satisfaction. “I’m not—!”

“Hey, I’m not judging.” Teon interrupted purely to rile him up further, “She’s got a nice ass.”

“I’m not staring at her—!”

Teon threw his head back, “ _Keelah_ , I _know_ , you’re a Salarian and never feel such emotions, blah blah blah. That’s complete and utter varren shit and you know it. Man up and ask her out.”

“You— Just—” Teon was thoroughly pleased at how flustered Kallo had become. It was one of his favorite pastimes, riling Kallo up so much. He finally groaned aloud and dropped his head, “It’s not like that.”

“Whatever you say, buddy.”

Teon had fully intended to drop the topic there. He watched other shuttles passing by, listened to the chaos that always accompanied Omega. Kallo felt differently, apparently, and when he spoke up he startled Teon in the process.

“It’s not possible.” Teon turned back to look at Kallo. He had a strange contemplative look on his face, something troubled just there, just behind the eyes, “Even if I wanted to… My society forbids it. I couldn’t give her what she needs, much less what she deserves.”

Oh. Teon hadn’t realized just how much Kallo had actually thought about it. That sobered him up considerably.

“Is that you talking, or ancestors so far gone you don’t even know their names?” He asked, and only got an uneasy shrug in return. “Tradition is important, sure, but not when it gets between you and your own happiness.”

Kallo was a little desperate, almost, “I am happy, rain’s grace Teon I’ve never been happier. I’d like to enjoy that for as long as I can until—”

Kallo didn’t seem able to finish the thought, and Teon thought he knew why. “So why not try and make it into something more?”

“She’s going to Andromeda.” Kallo replied miserably, “I’m not.”

“And here I thought you'd been thinking about it since day one.” Kallo’s eyes met Teon’s, finally, and it was as much an invitation to continue his thought as any, “I know you’re not satisfied here in the Milky Way, you never have been. Not even during flight school, not since that day I met you on the Citadel when you were about to go on your very first test flight, you weren’t satisfied with this world. I don’t know if the others have particularly noticed, but I notice. It hurts to watch. It hurts because you can’t seem to make that choice for yourself. Why can’t you?”

“I… I’ve thought about leaving, but—”

Teon saw an approaching figure behind Kallo, and made sure he didn’t say something he’d regret. He spoke up, interrupting Kallo, “Then it’s not too late.”

“Too late for what?” Sara had reached the shuttle, and was leaning down to peer through the open door. She startled Kallo in the process; he jumped and spun to face her, a stricken look on his face.

“Nothing! Nothing at all.” He told her hastily, shooting a grateful look in Teon’s direction. Teon nodded in return.

“Oh. Okay then.” Thankfully Sara didn’t ask more questions. Patched up and ready she climbed back into the shuttle, and they began the journey back to Sur’Kesh.

By the time they were back it was close to clock out, and their team was packing up for the night. The trio walked in loudly, Teon and Sara laughing together without a care in the world, Kallo rolling his eyes fondly behind them. All three stopped dead in their tracks when a very pissed off Lucille stood in their path, arms crossed with a glare that would shake the dead, if they had been dead. The trio froze, eyes wide, awaiting her judgment.

“Uh-oh.” Kallo muttered under his breath, likely too low for Lucille to hear.

“Oh shit.” Sara said at the same time, loud enough for Lucille to absolutely hear.

Teon pointed, “Sara did it!” He exclaimed, throwing her under the bus at Mach 2.

“Wha— HEY!” She turned on him, ready to fight again, but Lucille approached and killed that idea instantly. “Traitor.” She hissed at Teon, who didn’t even bother to look apologetic.

Lucille gave them a whithering stare, and all three of them felt much like children being scolded by their mother. “Did you get the blueprints?” She asked hauntingly, not in the mood for games or delays. Teon handed the cube over, which contained the data they needed. She looked it over for damage before setting her disappointed gaze upon them. All three of them flinched— it was worse than her angry glares ever were. “What did I say about fights?”

Sara laughed nervously, “Sorry…” She tried, but Lucille was not impressed. Behind her Sorenna giggled and O’Connell watched with his head propped up on his hand. If they had popcorn they’d be wolfing it down, two kids watching their siblings get in trouble and enjoying it immensely.

Finally Lucille sighed and dropped her shoulders, “No you’re not.”

“Yeah, I’m not.” Sara told her honestly, straightening up, “We got the blueprints, didn’t we?”

Lucille shook her head, “I know better than to try and stop you three idiots. Just try to leave out the injuries next time.” She demanded, going back to her desk and locking the cube into one of her drawers.

“No promises.” Sara grinned. They were off the hook, and she’d never felt better.

“Shut up, Sara.” Lucille sent a sharp glare her way, taking the wind right out of her sails.

“Yes ma’am.” Sara sighed, throwing the rest of them into fits of laughter, pushing each other out the doors for a late night dinner. 

It was heaven.

—

The Tempest was under construction.

None of them could quite believe it. They all just stood there for a while on that first day, watching the first support beams of the Tempest being put into place. It was a moment they hadn’t quite prepared themselves for.

They then celebrated and got very drunk, of course, but no one beyond them knew that.

Progress on the Tempest was growing, and soon they found themselves splitting time between their office and the construction bay. The Tempst, although just bones, was still as beautiful as they had imagined.

Perhaps it was that feeling that grew into complacency. Of course something could go wrong. And go wrong it did.

Sara was late for work one bright morning. She hurriedly threw on her clothes and brushed her teeth, planned to pick up a hasty breakfast on the way. As she scrambled her Tool rang with an incoming call, and she glanced at it before answering and leaving it on the table so she could keep getting ready.

“Sawubona Kal!” She called out from across the room.

“Hey,” He greeted, “I just walked into the office, thought you’d be here.”

“Running late, sorry. I’ll be there soon.”

“Well I’ve got news, that’s why I rushed in.” Something in his voice sounded… off. So wrong, in fact, that Sara stopped all of her morning preparations and stared at her Tool, caught off guard. “Lucille was working late last night, she was alone in the hangar. There was an accident, apparently some of the storage lines collapsed.”

The breath was knocked from Sara’s lungs instantly. She crossed to her table in three long strides, picking up her Tool and sitting down, “Is Luci okay?” 

Kallo was remarkably calm. Worried, but calm enough that Sara wasn’t working herself into a panic. “She broke her back when the stored equipment fell on her. It took an hour for anyone to find her. She was rushed to a hospital in Shirix for surgery.”

“My god…” Sara set her head in her hand and rubbed her temple, glued to their call, “Will she make it? Do you know?”

“Sorenna is with her— she found Luci, actually.” Kallo explained, “She said she’ll pull through, but she’s been paralyzed from the waist down.”

“Oh… poor Luci.” 

“Sorenna says she wants to talk to us, I’m headed for the shuttle bay if you can come.”

Sara jumped up and grabbed her keys, not bothering with much else as she ran out the door, “I’m coming right now.” 

Sara ran, and prayed it would all be okay.

—

“This is ridiculous.” 

Lucille was, mercifully, okay. Okay, awake, and at that moment, _pissed the fuck off_.

The crew surrounded her hospital bed. The boys let Sorenna and Sara use the two available chairs, and they all huddled close to talk and keep Lucille company. She was laying in her bed seething after her surgery, fidgeting her upper body and extremely uncomfortable. Her lower body did not move— she was, indeed, paralyzed.

“At least you’re alive.” Sorenna chimed in unhelpfully. Lucille was not pleased, but none of them would take offense, not after what she’d gone through.

“Yeah, woohoo.” She deadpanned, “Who do they think they are, keeping me here like this?” She practically growled, and Sara couldn’t help but laugh.

“Doctors who saved your life,” She said through her chuckles, “so you best listen to them for a while.” Lucille exaggerated groan only threw the rest of them into helpless, relieved laughter.

Finally, though, Lucille seemed to start relaxing. “Well, my blueprints are on my desk.” She said in that voice, the one she used as their boss, not their friend. “You guys can continue the work, but I’m implementing a buddy system as of now. No one stays in the hangar alone, I’ve already sent word to the rest of Engineering. We’re not having a repeat of my stupidity.”

“We’ll have something for you by the time you’re back.” O’Connell promised for all of them.

“I’ll hold you to that.” She smiled, “My damn back isn’t going to stop this ship from getting built. Send me updates?”

“We will. Promise.”

—

They sent her many updates. Frankly, more updates than Lucille could handle from a hospital bed. But she loved every one, she watched their videos many times over and sent them back signed documents and various orders. Her favorite videos were not updates, however; it was the recording of their everyday antics, their failed experiments and their triumphs, their misadventures and their laughter. A video of Sara climbing the bones of the Tempest bare handed. A video of the group dancing to music in the office on their lunch break. A video from Kallo, showing the group passed out on the floor covered in notes and blueprints, sound asleep in a loose pile. She saved every one, and watched them when she felt lonely.

The crew did alright in her absence as well. Teon was in temporary charge without her presence, but he didn’t much act like their boss and they didn’t treat him as such. It worked for them, a loose chain of command that allowed all of them a chance at leadership, pulling their part of the Tempest into construction, helping each other along. 

The weeks passed by with little fanfare, until Sara marched in one morning with a stack of papers lofted high above her head and a triumphant smile on her face.

“Teon,” She called with pride, “I’m about to make your entire week.”

His head shot up and hope filled his eyes, “You got approval? Really?!”

“You bet your ass, I just finished simulations on floor 3. Check this out.” She waved the group over to her desk. Teon took the papers from her hand and looked them over as she typed on her computer, bringing up a summary of the virtual trials that had been run. “According to our simulations, our total speed amounts to:” She highlighted the number, and their jaws dropped, “Thirteen light-years per day!”

“You’re _kidding me_.” O’Connell gaped. Sorenna managed a squeak of shock, but Teon was silent and stunned.

“Fuel and speed problems solved!” Sara exclaimed, thoroughly pleased.

The only one not reacting was Kallo. He simply turned to watch their reactions as he calmly reported, “And we’re officially breaking galactic travel laws.” 

The group froze, and Kallo had to fight to hold back his laughter from the looks on their faces.

“Oh.”

So it was that, a week later, a letter from the Citadel Council arrived concerning the Tempest. Word got around fast, when you broke galactic law. Sorenna read it to them aloud, “-- _“While the Tempest is an impressive ship, it no longer meets Galactic Safety and Travel Laws. We have, henceforth, given the Tempest a special pass— You may fly the ship in approved training areas and courses, but no further. The Tempest may only be utilized fully and without restraint once within the Andromeda galaxy. Congratulations on such an accomplishment._ ” Signed by the Citadel Council.” 

“I don’t know whether I should feel concerned or proud.” Sara commented lightly.

“Proud.” They assured her, for that’s what they really were: proud as could be, proud they’d accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. And if Kallo pulled her aside that night, before leaving, to make sure she was doing okay after all that stress, none of them commented on it.

—

A few more weeks passed by before Lucille was back at work. She used a hover-chair to get around, but otherwise nothing had changed about her. None of them commented on the occasional stutters of pain, but Sara did offer her some stretching techniques to help relieve the strain on her shoulders.

The Tempest was coming along nicely. The exterior was done, as well as the basic inner decks and walls. They had moved on to individual details, building each room to serve its purpose. The bridge and drive core hub were the first rooms completed, and all of them getting to sit on the bridge together was a proud and sobering moment.

As they worked with each room their schedules began to ease, and they all felt a little less train. They were on track to meet their timeframe and they could scarcely believe it. It was a dream coming to fruition.

It also gave them time to mess with each other.

The most memorable moment was on a rainy day, as they worked in the Tempest. Teon, Kallo and Sara were on the bridge calibrating the ship’s navigation, letting themselves have a slower day. Sara had mentioned something about having a bad headache and not feeling all that well, so they all agreed they could use a more relaxed day of work. When O’Connell walked in they actively had to keep their faces under control.

“Hey guys. Just a heads up, don’t turn on the bathroom lights.”

They glanced at each other and tried desperately not to egg each other on. Behind O’Connell Sorenna walked in, and shot him a confused look having heard his request.

“Why not?”

O’Connell turned around to tell her, as such he was unable to see the trio behind him, who promptly broke down into silent giggles. They shushed each other without a word.

“I’ve been running power distribution models.” O’Connell explained, “My tests say that turning them on will overload the drive core somehow. I’m trying to track down the problem.”

“Oh.” Sorenna looked behind O’Connell to find the three in tears, breaking down and nearly unable to keep their laughter silent. They tried desperately to keep themselves in control, and they were not really succeeding. Thankfully, O’Connell didn’t seem to notice.

“I’m sure you’ll get it fixed soon, buddy.” Teon managed to say without a tremor to his voice.

“Yeah, I’ll keep working on it.”

O’Connell left to continue his work, and Sorenna whipped around to face them with an inscrutable expression.

“Did you…?” She asked quietly. The three of them didn’t try to hide their laughter anymore.

“O’Connell didn’t lock his terminal last night, so we slipped in a few extra numbers.” Kallo told her, shoving Sara when she snorted.

 _“You didn’t.”_ Sorenna whispered, wide eyed, and they broke into wheezing laughter so bad they couldn’t make a sound, could barely breathe as tears streamed down their faces.

Sara had never had a better day than the day O’Connell finally figured out what they had done.

After another two weeks Lucille shoved the group out of their office, explaining they had to wait a minute for a surprise she wished to show them. After a while she called them back in, and they startled as she stood before them.

_Stood._

Lucille was grinning brightly as she showed off an amazing mech suit. It looked like it was once a construction mech, but Lucille had stripped it down and made it a little smaller, fitting around her back, legs and hips, allowing her to stand and move without her wheelchair.

“How’d you manage this without us knowing?!” Sorenna exclaimed as they ooh’d and aah’d over her new mech.

“Just some clever scheming is all.” She laughed, “I modified this beauty myself.”

“Amazing!” And it was— Lucille had proven her strengths once again, and it was an accomplishment worth celebrating. The Tempest was nearly completed, Lucille had gotten her legs back, and there was no finer feeling in all the world, from Sara’s point of view.

When, soon after, the paint was being put on their completed Tempest, they cheered and cried and hugged one another with joy. They took a photo together in front of their ship, huddled together as grins took over their faces.

Everything was perfect.

Well, everything was perfect until it wasn’t.

The sign of things not being perfect was, predictably, Lucille throwing her pen. Normally she would simply throw it against her cup when she was frustrated— today, she threw it across the room, startling all of them in the process.

“We’ve got a problem.” Everyone stared at Lucille, shocked by the outburst, and paid rapt attention to her words. “Official notice from Ms Garson herself.”

“They blaming us for damaged property?” O’Connell asked, trying to lighten the tension in the room.

Lucille dropped her head into her hands, “No, no, nothing like that. It seems Ms. Garson has concluded that the ODSY drive within our Tempest is too difficult for an average pilot to control, much less for an engineer to maintain.” She explained dejectedly.

“But the Tempest's wont have ‘average’ pilots and engineers, that's the point. They're Pathfinder vessels, top of the line.”

“Ms. Garson clearly doesn't agree.”

Teon couldn’t suppress his anger, “We can't just start over! We're out of time, our Tempest is built, it's—”

“But the other four Tempest's don't have ODSY drives yet. Ms. Garson has requested an alternate solution.”

“There are no alternate solutions. If she wants what she asked for, the ODSY is the only drive core that can deliver.”

Lucille looked at Teon, lost and frustrated, and Teon was silenced. “I know.”

None of them quite knew what to do. Starting over, trying to find another solution on such short notice… it would be an impossible task, and they all knew it. That only left the option of failure, which was not an option they were willing to think on.

“Then let me prove it to her.” Kallo finally spoke up, gathering up all of their wandering thoughts, “Let me prove the Tempest can be controlled. I'll personally take it through Altama.”

“Altama?” Sara asked.

“It's an asteroid field filled with constantly-shifting traps, EMP charges and mines hidden amid the asteroids and ship debris.” Kallo explained, “Altama is the most dangerous testing course in the Milky Way, which also happens to be a perfect simulation for the unknown and unpredictable conditions of Heleus.”

“Absolutely not.” Lucille sat straight, her gaze steadily on Kallo’s, a frown of disapproval on her lips. “Do you know how many people have died on that course?”

Kallo didn’t even hesitate, “207 pilots. Only six pilots have ever made it through the entire course.”

That was a sobering statistic. A statistic that shot ice through all of their veins.

“Have you ever run that course, Kallo?” Lucille asked hesitantly. She seemed to be thinking along the same lines as the rest of them: what other choice do we have?

“…No,” Kallo admitted sheepishly, “but I have run similar courses. It's only for the most extreme tests of the most extreme vessels. Fortunately, given the extremes our Initiative is hurtling towards, we have access to Altama.”

She shook her head, a slightly frantic look in her eyes, “Even if I did let you go, you're not an average pilot, Kallo. Your track record is beyond any of our other pilots.”

“Test pilots maybe, but those already signed on to the Initiative? They've got some experts in there, far superior to me. I think we need to prove to Ms. Garson that the Tempest's can't be flown by some commercial pilot. And if the Tempest can successfully navigate Altama, it'll prove the ODSY's viability.”

Teon let out a strange noise— some kind of begrudgingly approving hum, which also conveyed his deep distress at the idea, “I'll say this... there is no other existing drive core that will do the work of the ODSY. They're all either too big or require too many recourses to maintain.”

Kallo stood from his desk, “ _Please_ , Luci. I know I can do it.”

Lucille hesitated. She wheeled her chair out and pivoted herself to face him fully, but she didn’t talk. Instead Sara had one question, one she couldn’t ignore if she’d tried.

“What if you blow up?”

Kallo looked at Sara for a long moment. She stared back at him. There was an entire conversation between them in a single moment, an array of worries and reassurances and pleads. Finally Kallo shifted, breaking their moment, “Then I suppose we'll be proving Ms. Garson's point, and the other Tempest's will have a safer drive core. But I won't blow up. I _won't_.” He looked at Lucille and saw the moment she gave in to his plan, and her sigh of defeat was something none of them could ignore. “Can you get us in touch with Ms Garson?” He asked her.

“I…” She huffed, “I can place an inquiry—”

“That’ll take too long.” Sara interrupted her, standing from her desk with a heavy breath. She glared at Kallo; it wasn’t an angry glare, it was a desperate glare. “You better not screw this up, because you're going to owe me a favor.”

Kallo didn’t have time to respond to her. Sara marched over to their holo communicator and typed in a number. As her call connected she took a step back from the device and stood herself straight— she planted her feet, squared her shoulders, raised her chin and folded her hands behind her back, waiting for the call to connect. None of them had ever seen her in such a posture— well, none except Kallo, who recognized the rigid stance from that fateful day on the Citadel.

After a few moments, Alec Ryder materialized on their communicator, his same size in real life— although the holo was blue, it was the clearest Sara had seen her father in a long time. 

“Sara?” He asked, more than a little surprised, although she could tell he was trying to hide it.

“Dad.”

Behind her, the group had clustered together to watch. Alec wouldn’t have heard it, but Sara could hear O’Connell whispering, “Holy shit, that’s _the actual_ Pathfinder Ryder.” Sara managed to contain her chuckle. She hoped her father hadn’t seen the momentary break in her composure.

Alec looked her up and down before mirroring her posture, the type of stance he was used to from his days with the Alliance. A serious expression settled itself on his face, the wrinkles on his face very used to sitting in this way. “Well, that's a look I haven't seen in a while. What's up?”

“I need a direct audience with Jien, and I need it... well, now. As quick as possible.”

He was quiet for a minute, processing her request— he studied her for a moment, trying to discern some kind of subtext. “That's... doable. Why?”

“It seems Ms. Garson believes that the Tempest's ODSY drive core is too dangerous for the average pilot to handle.”

His brow furrowed in deep concentration. It was the kind of look that Sara was hardwired to react to— she shifted, making sure her posture was perfect.

“I don't want any average pilots flying those Tempests in an uncharted galaxy.” He said.

“That would be extremely unwise, yes. Our pilot wants to take the Tempest to a testing course, and we need to ensure Jien is watching. Shouldn't be difficult, you two being friends and all, right?”

The thing of it was, Sara knew exactly how to push her father’s buttons, knew exactly how to convince him of ideas or sway him in certain directions when necessary. And perhaps he understood that, perhaps he could ignore her pokes and prods, but if he noticed it he didn’t. He simply nodded slowly, thinking over the problem in his own way.

“I will arrange it.” He told her, and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, “I’ll send you details within the hour.”

“Thank you.”

“And Sara?”

She straightened again, “Yes?”

He looked her in the eye and set a firm line, “I do not take such requests lightly. You tell your pilot not to screw this up.”

And that was a line she knew would not be crossed, “Don’t worry, dad. He wont.”

If Sara was facing him, she would have seen the softness that graced Kallo’s eyes, but she wasn’t. That didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

“Alright then. You best go prepare that ship of yours.”

“Of course.”

Alec studied her for a moment more. He then did something he didn’t often do— he smiled. A smile she’d not seen in a long time, it was a subtle smile that she almost missed, small but genuine. Completely and utterly genuine, and she couldn’t help but replicate it back at him.

Alec tapped his chest twice. Silently, Sara returned his taps. Then he disconnected their call.

 _“Okay.”_ Kallo breathed in awe, “A favor, noted, I won’t forget I swear it.”

Teon was nodding in approval, “Nothing wasted in word or deed.”

“Well fuck me sideways.” Sorenna laughed, “I can see the family resemblance.”

Sara, decidedly uncomfortable, went back to her desk, “If you see it, then please ignore it. But he'll come through for us, so lets go get some preparations done.”

Though they were all nervous, they did their best to ignore it. After all, Kallo knew what he was doing. They knew he could do it.

Right?

—

It was a busy day at Altama preparing for a new test: The Tempest was about to run through Altama for the first time. 

The crew was making sure the ship was ready. The flight over had been smooth, and Kallo was confident. As they ran their last numbers Kallo took a few moments to himself, some time to sit quietly and settle those nerves that were always there when it came time to test a ship. And Altama was, indeed, the most ambitious test he had ever attempted. He couldn’t say he was confident he would make it, but he knew he had the possibility within him to make history, and that gave him all the bravery he needed.

As he waited for their all-clear, his Tool was blowing up with messages. When he finally gave in and checked he found the messages were from his clan; somehow they had found out about his run through Altama.

_What’s going on?_

_Why are you at Altama?_

_Jath, answer someone._

_What are you doing out there?_

_You’re taking this too far._

Logically, he could understand their concerns. If he died they’d be losing a rebellious yet still valuable member of their clan. If he tapped out and didn’t complete the course there were many other clans who would use Kallo’s cowardice against them. A successful run through the Milky Way’s most dangerous testing ground would be a run for the history books, which may in turn effect his family in any number of ways. But Kallo couldn’t bring it upon himself to care— after all, they had never cared for his wants and wishes. He’d long since stopped caring about theirs. He wanted this chance, and he was going to take it.

With a sigh he shut down his Tool without answering their queries, standing to meet his friends at their ship. “Alright, I’m ready.” He told them.

“Not too late to turn around.” Lucille gave him a hopeful look, but he merely smiled and shook his head.

“I’m going through with it.”

Resigned to his determination, they all backed off of their fears, “Okay.” Lucille nodded, “I got confirmation that Ms. Garson will join us via live video. You better get through this in one piece.”

He grinned, hoping to instill the confidence he felt to them, “I will. See you on the other side.”

With that he went up the ramp into his ship, and his crew went to Operations to watch.

He could do this.

—

“So… how do we know if he’s gotten through the course or not?” Sorenna asked.

The crew stood in Operations as Kallo prepared the ship out in space. Several monitors and control personnel were synced to the Tempest to monitor every detail of the ship and it’s functions. Everyone was waiting for the show to start with baited breath.

“It’s simple enough.” A technician explained to them, “He must fly the Tempest within a certain radius of these twenty markers, placed throughout the asteroid belt. These markers are constantly shifting, and he'll need to be creative to reach them. In the middle here, we've added an extra simulation on his request, trackers that he must first identify, then hide and escape from. If he can successfully avoid all debris and traps and hit all twenty markers, he'll have clearance to leave the course. He can tap out as well, but something tells me he's not going to do that.”

Another one of the techs elbowed his buddy in the chair next door, “We haven't had a successful run in fifteen years. This could be a day for the history books.”

The crew, however, weren’t thinking about history books. Their thoughts landed firmly on their pilot, who’s stunt exhilarated and terrified them in equal measure. Their thoughts prayed for his safe return, prayed this plan would work in their favor.

Sara stared at the screen, hugging herself tightly. It was Teon who stepped into her space and placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing to let her know he would stay there. “He’ll be fine.” Teon muttered, only loud enough for her to hear.

“Yeah. I know.” She whispered back, and she wasn’t sure he’d heard her.

The technicians finished running their own diagnostics, sending an all clear to one another. A green light became visible beside their monitors, and they began activating the course for Kallo.

“Video link established.” A tech called from a camera in the back.

“Tempest, do you read me?” Their lead tech asked via comms.

“Loud and clear, Command.” Over comms Kallo sounded very calm, confident and assured. It did nothing to settle their nerves. “Ready on your signal.”

“Markers activated. You’re cleared in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

On their countdown Kallo shot forward, and history began to be written.

The crew watched him through the monitors. Cameras were placed throughout the course to monitor him, but for the majority of the course they could only watch him through a navigation interface, with the Tempest represented as a red dot as he weaved through asteroids and destroyed ships.

The course itself was complicated, teeming with massive rocks and pieces of ships both large and small who hadn’t made it through the course. The asteroid belt was highlighted by the star it was gravitationally bound to, creating long shadows which hid various obstacles. Yet Kallo was poised and composed as he expertly weaved back and forth. There were many traps that he managed to identify and avoid, and he hit every marker no matter how impossible it seemed. A few times, when the cameras caught him, the crew could see a few scrapes on the paint here and there, but no obvious damage. 

And, judging by his brief updates with command, he was enjoying himself immensely.

He reported, very calmly, of a near collision with an asteroid that had left a small dent in one of their thrusters. Through his hand Teon could feel the moment Sara began to tremble uncontrollably. She couldn’t move, couldn’t tear her eyes from the screen, didn’t seem to be breathing. Teon, having no idea of what to do, came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her torso, holding her steady as they watched. Sorenna stepped closer and put her hand on Teon’s back. O’Connell held Sorenna and Lucille’s hands. It was all they could do.

At the halfway point he came across their extra challenge, a test they weren’t sure would work. If he was detected, several mines would explode. “Activating stealth drives.” Kallo reported, “Going comm silent.”

And he was gone. There wasn’t even a marker on the map; one minute he was there, the next he was gone, and all they could do was hold their breath.

For several minutes they could only stare and wait, wait for some kind of sign. Sara was gripping Teon’s arm hard enough to leave bruises, but he wasn’t about to complain. One could have heard a pin drop in that room— no one dared to move or breathe, no one dared to look away from the screen.

Finally, that little red dot reappeared on their map, and the room breathed out a collective sigh of relief powerful enough to knock down a skyscraper. “Simulation successful, stealth drives are operational!” Kallo reported with glee.

“Roger that Tempest, you are half way through Altama. Status?”

“Never felt better, Command!”

Kallo was having the time of his life out there, and even at command they could all feel his joy. Sara, however, had had enough— she turned in Teon’s embrace, wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the juncture between his neck and shoulder. He didn’t comment on the glint of tears in her eye, he merely tightened his grip on her and waited for the trial to be over.

Kallo was nearing the end of the course, and all the techs were hyped up. The crew didn’t know how to feel, so they simply held their breath. Sorenna looked at Sara, and though Teon couldn’t see her face Sorenna could see part of her, and the look on the Asari’s face conveyed what Teon had suspected— not to mention the damp patch developing on his shoulder and the silent hitches of her breath which shook him as he held her.

Sorenna stepped closer at once. She kept one hand on Teon’s back and tangled the other in Sara’s hair. She cupped the back of Sara’s head and pressed her forehead against Sara’s temple, whispering softly to her. Every now and then Sara would nod or shake her head, but otherwise it was Sorenna who spoke for them both.

Finally, Kallo broke through and hit the last marker, and the techs in command flew into a huge round of cheers and applause. Like something out of a movie, they all jumped from their seats, threw papers in the air and hugged one another in celebration.

“Altama completed, Command!” Kallo called with nothing short of elation.

“Roger that, Tempest!” A tech replied over the noise, “You have clearance to return to base at the safest opportunity. Congratulations!”

The crew was happy, of course they were, but they didn’t cheer. They were far too emotionally wrung out for such a response. There were a few tears in all of their eyes; Sorenna turned to embrace O’Connell and Lucille, while Teon squeezed Sara tightly. “See?” He muttered to her, for only her, “He’s fine. _He’s fine_.”

She didn’t reply, but she did nod through the sobs she no longer bothered to keep hidden.

All they could do now was wait.

—

As the live video shut down, Jien sat stunned at her desk. Her office was quiet after a long day.

“Wow.” She breathed, “That was— amazing.”

Alec sat across from her, leg crossed on top of his knee and hands folded in contemplation. “He’s a very good pilot.”

“Indeed. I see their point.”

Alec pivoted to face Jien fully, eyes serious, “Why are you so adamant on dropping the ODSY? You're smarter than this. You know we need the ODSY.” Shaking her head Jien stood up and began to pace. Alec stood as well, but he didn’t move from his spot, instead watching her with his arms crossed. “We don't have time to find another solution. These Tempests are integral to our survival in Heleus. We need the ODSY for each and every one.”

“Alec…” She sighed heavily, as if coming to terms with something within herself, “I know we do. But I can't—”

“We can.” He assured her, “I trust my daughter, if she says the ODSY is necessary then she has my full support on the matter. If you wont trust me as a friend, then trust me as a Pathfinder.”

Jien faced him and folded her arms, hugging herself in a gesture of comfort he rarely saw from his friend, “I'm sorry, Alec. You'll have to take it up with-- with Them. “

Alec felt a block of ice drop to the pit of his stomach. His body went ramrod straight and his arms fell from their crossed position to his sides, fists clenched, “The Benefactor told you to cut the ODSY's from the Tempests?”

Jien nodded slowly, dejectedly, and whispered, “I'm not... in control anymore.”

The Benefactor was not a figure Alec enjoyed conversing with. Any associate of the Shadow Broker was an untrustworthy figure in Alec’s eyes. But it was the Benefactor who was paying for this Initiative, who ensured it all got done in time to leave the Milky Way by their desired date. They were well connected, well hidden, and very dangerous.

And Alec knew they could not afford to cut ties, no matter how much he wanted to. They were in way too deep.

With a huff Alec rounded Jien’s desk and typed the Benefactor’s number in, directing their call to project on Jien’s largest monitor. The Benefactor answered quickly, as they usually did.

They didn’t know who the Benefactor was, didn’t even have a name despite their best covert efforts. Whenever the Benefactor appeared before them it was always virtual, through screens where they could control the images they saw. Their face cycled between all known species and genders as they spoke, constantly shifting and making it impossible to identify them, a million and one stolen identities that they didn’t bother tracking down. A waste of time, that’s all it was.

Alec stood square and straight before the monitor as the Benefactor narrowed their eyes at him. “Alec. Jien.” They greeted coldly.

“You're cutting the ODSY from the Tempests?” He asked, having no use for small talk, not with this mysterious and dangerous figure.

“Yes, I am.”

Alec growled under his breath, “That is _incomprehensibly stupid_. We need those Tempests, and they are useless without the ODSY's.”

“I have made my decision, Ryder.” They replied, cool and collected as they always were, betraying no emotion at all.

“Why? You and I know damn well it's within our budget. What are you so afraid of?”

That gave the Benefactor pause. Alec would never be known as daft, and despite the Benefactor’s secretive nature he had gotten a good idea of their tone and demeanor, a good sense of how they felt about a situation. There was no logic in their decision to remove the ODSY’s, unless it was a decision made out of fear, and that was something he could use against them. A game of push and pull he had played since the moment he’d met them. His push, their move.

Finally they spoke, “Your daughter, Sara, will be working on that Tempest in Andromeda. That _specific_ Tempest. I should know. I've ensured it.”

Move made, and Alec was on the defensive. He clenched his fist just behind his back where the Benefactor couldn’t see, keeping his anger under wraps— where Jien, very clearly, could see it burn.

“That was not our agreement.” Jien hissed harshly, but the Benefactor merely glanced at Jien before returning their gaze to Alec. Jien was not the one who concerned them.

“There must be an alternative, Alec. You will find it or—”

“Or what?” Alec asked, cutting them off and startling them in the process. “You’ll call it off? It’s far too late for that. We do not have the time to create an alternative to the ODSY. You set a deadline, and we are poised to meet it if we continue our work as normal. You do want to leave before They arrive, don't you?”

“It is essential that we meet our departure date.”

“Then we use the ODSY. As your first Pathfinder I officially condone it's usage, and take full responsibility for the outcome. We need those Tempests. You know we do.”

Alec had won this round. He knew he would be the victor the moment Jien had told him the truth. The Benefactor cared more about leaving the Milky Way than they did about Initiative policy. They may try to effect what they can, but in the end they would not jeopardize the mission, and Alec knew it. They shut down the call without a word, and Alec allowed himself the moment to stew.

“I’m so sorry, Alec.” Jien breathed, horrified, “I didn't-- I was trying so hard to ensure your children didn't get involved with—”

“I’ll handle it.” He cut her off harshly. 

“But—”

“Jien.” He turned to face her, that determined look in his eyes, and she was silenced, “I’ll handle it.” And she gave in, there wasn’t much else she could do in the face of Alec’s pride.

“This does not bode well, does it.” She muttered absently, staring out her window in deep contemplation. Alec hummed something that sounded like an affirmative, deep in thought himself.

“I think we need to keep a closer eye on Fulcrum.” 

“And… the Tempests?”

“Keep the ODSY’s.” He said, “But I want that Tempest when we get there.”

—

As Kallo marched out of the Tempest, his friends awaited him with joy and relief on their faces. He grinned and almost ran to meet them, high on his excitement. Then he noticed something which nearly made him halt in his tracks.

Sara wasn’t with them.

It was odd, but he didn’t have a moment to dwell on it. His friends swarmed him the moment he was off the ramp, smothering him with their elation.

“That was amazing, Kallo!” Sorenna exclaimed.

“You’d make a killing flying courses like this on the regular.” O’Connell chimed in, although he seemed unsure about the prospect.

Kallo laughed, “I haven't flown anything so challenging in... well, ever! Think they'd let me run it again?”

“Don’t push your luck.” Lucille grumbled protectively, which sobered them all.

“What did Ms Garson think?” He asked to change the topic.

“She's convinced. The ODSY will be implemented into the other Tempests.”

“Fantastic.” Kallo breathed a sigh of relief, grateful their plan had been a rousing success.

Then, something behind his friends caught his eye as they chatted back and forth. The door to the shuttle bay was shutting, but just beyond it Kallo saw a flash of skirts and curly hair he’d recognize anywhere, retreating down the hallway away from them.

He stared at the door as questions flooded his mind— why wasn’t Sara with them? Why was she running, hiding herself? Did she not feel well? Kallo hadn’t asked much about her illness since that night she’d confided in him, what if it was getting bad again? He imagined she could help herself, but did she bring an aide with her? And if something was wrong, why—

“Come on,” Teon’s voice startled him out of his spiraling thoughts. He was pushing the rest of the crew toward the Tempest, but made no move to follow them quite yet, “lets go check over the Tempest, make sure she can get us back home.”

Lucille, Sorenna and O’Connell seemed to take some kind of hint, and they retreated up the ramp into the Tempest. Teon stayed behind, looking from the door to a very confused and slightly alarmed Kallo.

“Kallo.” His tone was unfamiliar to him, something hard and _dangerous_ laced in the very edges, “Go talk to Sara, or I’m going to kick your ass.”

Kallo’s eyed widened in fear, “Is she okay?”

Teon muttered something under his breath and shook his head, “You’ll understand.” He said before following the group up into the Tempest, leaving Kallo with nowhere to go but forward. Forward through the doors and into a deserted hallway, silent with a light flickering in the middle.

The door shut behind him as he saw Sara further down the hall. She was leaning against the wall with her face buried in her hands, shoulders tense. Alarmed, he quickly moved down the hallway towards her, which she didn’t seem to notice.

As he got closer he could hear her sniffling, and realized with an icy jolt that Sara was crying.

Looking back, Kallo realized had never seen Sara cry before. He’d seen sadness, devastation, horror, fear, anger, frustration, but never tears. Never sobbing, hitching breaths that pulled at something deep within his chest, not once in the years he’d known her. Not even after the worst day of their lives. He wondered how often she had hidden her tears from his sight.

“What’s wrong?” He asked her, scaring her in the process. She jumped away from him with a gasp, eyes wide with tears streaming from her eye. She took a few gasping breaths before relaxing, taking in the concern and confusion on his face.

“Wrong—” She flailed, “Nothing’s wrong! Nothing!” She insisted, “It’s fine, I’m— I’m fine…” 

She trailed off, knowing she couldn’t successfully sway him to believe it. Kallo watched as she tried to hide her tears from him instead, leaning away while trying to wipe the offending tears from her face. They were quickly replaced, and she gave up a lost cause. He took a small step closer to her, trying to wrap his mind around what he was seeing.

“Sara?” He asked quietly, hoping he wouldn’t break whatever was happening within his friend’s mind.

Sara trembled as she shook her head slowly, “You did it. I knew you could.”

“Well, yeah.” He cocked his head, so very confused, “Shouldn't we all be celebrating, and happy? They're letting us keep the ODSY.”

“Happy.” She muttered, “Right. I am.”

Kallo wanted to comfort her, and he knew that comfort for Sara sat with physical touch and reassurance. He’d seen it often enough. So he grew increasingly more alarmed when, as he raised his hand to try and wipe away her tears, she flinched away from him and took a step back, recoiling from him and, a little bit, from herself. 

This wasn’t in the script, and he had no idea what to do next.

“But you’re not.” He settled on stating the obvious, “Why not? What can I do?”

“Nothing.” She told him immediately.

“There must be something Sara, I—”

“No.” She insisted desperately, “There’s nothing you can do. You wouldn’t do what I wanted, and I won’t ask for what I want because I respect you too damn much.”

Kallo recoiled, “It’s something I did?” He breathed with shock, “If it is then let me fix it. I’ll do what I can, just—”

“No you wouldn’t.” She ground out, growing frustrated, and he fell silent. “Because watching you fly through that course? I have never been more terrified _in my life_.” Kallo stared at her in stunned silence. The connotations of her statement of fact did not escape him. “You're reckless, and you're an adrenaline junkie, and you jump at the chance to prove yourself no matter what it takes. This is serious, this is dangerous, and you could have— you—” She choked back something that sounded like a sob, managing to pull herself together enough to finish her train of thought, “So no, you can’t fix this. I won’t allow you to fix this. Because my mind wants to tell you to never take an absurd risk like that again, but my heart knows that you're happy out there, I've never heard you that happy, that— that _free_ before, and I won't be the one to take that away from you. Even if it terrifies me to my core.”

How was he supposed to respond to that? Sara scrubbed at her cheek, offended that the tears dared to flow down it, refusing to look him in the eye.

“I— I don’t know how to tell you—” He tried to stutter out something of a coherent thought, though it took a few tries to accomplish. “Being out there, flying, it's the only time that I feel... alive. My world is the cockpit, it always has been, I—”

“I know, Kal.” She replied quickly, apparently running out of energy to feel anger or frustration, “That's why I will never ask you to step away from the things you love. That doesn't mean I can't fear for you.”

When Kallo didn’t respond, Sara took it as her queue to leave. She tried to, at any rate, tried to pass him in the hallway, but Kallo held out his hand and gently stopped her. “Wait…” He muttered, placing his hand against her arm before she could pass, but he did not grab her or force her to halt. She stopped on her own, waiting to see what he would say. “I'm sorry, but I-- I don't understand.” He admitted, “I survived.”

She gave him the saddest smile he’d ever seen, something cracking in her eyes as fresh tears formed, and he was at a total loss. “But what about next time?” She whispered, and it was nothing short of devastating.

He couldn’t answer that. The rules had been thrown out the airlock, and he had no way to find his way back. So he lowered his hand, allowing Sara to leave the hallway. He turned and watched her go, feeling cracks form somewhere in his chest, not understanding why they formed there. Not understanding why it felt like the world had fallen out from under him.


	9. Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kallo." Sara spoke up. The two looked back at her; if looks could kill, Kurn would be a pillar of salt. "He goes by Kallo. You better respect that."
> 
> Kurn didn't bother to acknowledge her. He turned back to Kallo, revolted by her presence. "You can't say no." He repeated, "I've come to collect you. We're leaving."
> 
> That was a first. A first that Kallo had been afraid of for years. And judging by the look on Kurn's face, he knew it.
> 
> Sara shot up off the couch in an instant, storming over with the wrath of God behind her. "Try it, you weasel. I dare you." She cracked her knuckles, thankfully sober enough to stand stably, "Touch him and you'll find the offending hand thrown to the other side of the valley, without you attached."
> 
> \--
> 
> The crew has a surprise for Sara, and Sara and Kallo feel something they've never felt before. The Tempest is completed, but Kallo's family won't let him leave the Milky Way so easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy N7 Day! Here's the next chapter a day early. Looking forward to that remaster!!

It was a warm, sunny day on Sur’Kesh, not too hot and not too cold, with a perfectly blue sky and not a cloud in sight. Kallo stood on the bridge and looked down at the rushing waterfall, a scowl plastered to his face that even the beautiful day couldn’t wipe away.

“Kal!” A cheery voice called out to him. He looked to see Sara running toward him, flushed and out of breath but happy nonetheless. She stopped when she reached him, hands on her knees, catching her breath.

“You’re late.” He said curtly.

“I’m sorry.” She laughed lightly, still trying to regain her breath. She repositioned her backpack on her shoulders, “I had my workout, then I needed to shower and drop off my bags and call Scott and-- hawu!” She sighed heavily, stretching out her back and arms. No wonder she looked so flushed— her hair was still damp. “I’m starving.” She complained.

“Good thing we’re getting lunch, then.”

It was rare that Kallo was in a sour mood. Usually he made a point of spinning everything to an optimistic light, and hiding what he could not spin. A scowl set on his face was even rarer.

Sara frowned, “What’s wrong?” She asked him. He startled then, as if he hadn’t noticed his own foul mood.

“I— What?”

“You're not usually short with me.” She explained with a concerned furrow to her brow, “Are you okay?”

“Uh…” Kallo scratched at the back of his neck, eyes fluttering around trying to stall for time. Eventually he sighed— he was in a bad mood, and there was no point in hiding it from his best friend. “Geez, you know me too well.” He hissed out, although he was rapidly losing his tension, “It’s not anything serious, just…” Sara waited while he hesitated again, letting him try and find the words. He seemed frustrated and out of sorts, and Sara knew before he said anything that he needed time to find the right way to say what was on his mind. “I’d like to go get some lunch, please.”

She smiled for him, bright and gentle, carefully placing her hand on his arm. He leaned into the touch, so Sara placed her hand in the crook of his elbow and held him there. He bent his arm for her almost on instinct. “I’m sure some food and a walk will clear your head.” She encouraged him, gently pulling him down the walkway to get something to eat. He followed for a moment before quickly matching her step, headed for their favorite cafe.

The two got some takeout lunch and took it to the little park. It was a small thing, some grass with benches and a fountain in the middle depicting some of Sur’Kesh’s native aquatic species. They sat down at the edge of the fountain and ate in silence, watching as people walked around— some of their colleagues lived with their families, and every now and then some children would run past, laughing and playing together.

Something had changed between them since Kallo’s run through Altama. Neither had much clue as to why— their time together was usually laid back and casual. Both would admit that they were even flirty now and then, despite their dismissals of the fact, simply for the sake of laughter and companionship. Neither had ever taken it any further, even when drunk, amounting to simple harmless fun. But it was different now; it wasn’t just fun anymore. Something heavy and heady had set in since their talk at Altama, and they had no idea what to do about it. Even their casual flirtations had ceased, earning them more than a few concerned looks from their colleagues.

When Sara had finished eating she grabbed something from her bag. A bag of beads and some stitching needles. She was working on some project, holding the bag on her lap as she wove beads of various colors together on a thin strand. Kallo didn’t know what she was making other than the fact that it was intricate. 

“Another hobby?” He finally spoke, warranting a quick glance and smile from his friend. She turned back to her task, although she moved enough for him to see more of what she was up to.

“Beading.” She told him, “My grandmother taught me beadwork from a young age. It’s tradition, one of my favorites.”

“I’ve never seen you work with beads before.”

“We’re busy.” She shrugged, “Beading calms me when I can't sleep.” She glanced at him again, solemn this time, “I'm not going to rush you to say anything, so I'll focus on this until you're ready to talk to me. Unless you don't want to.”

“No, I…” He took a breath, steadied himself as best he could, “I want to.”

“If you think I’m going to judge you, I won’t. What’s the issue?” She asked him, still focusing on her beading to take the pressure off of him. He’d never felt more fond of her than that moment.

Finally, he worked up the nerve to bite the bullet. “I got a call last night.”

“Yeah?”

“From Jien Garson.”

Sara put her beads back into their bag, focusing her attention on her friend, “Really? What did she want?”

“She…” His voice only mildly trembled, “She asked me to go to Andromeda.” Sara’s eyes widened, but he continued before she could speak, “They like our Tempest but they need someone to pilot her. Ms Garson said there’s a spot for me on the Nexus. She wants me to fly one of the Pathfinders through Heleus.”

A grin split Sara’s face, and Kallo momentarily reeled back from the shock of it, “That’s fantastic, they recognize your skills!”

“You.. You really think so?”

“Of course! What an opportunity, and to contact you personally, that’s huge.”

“Maybe.” He sighed, “It’s a big jump.”

Sara watched him for a moment, taking in the nervous twitches of his muscles, “Do you want to go?”

“I’m not sure.” He told her honestly, sadness laced in his words, his voice openly trembling from the weight of it all, “Somehow my family heard about it, and they’re not thrilled. Not that they were happy with me before but their scrutiny isn’t reassuring, and being berated by an irate Dalatrass for an hour isn’t my favorite way to spend a morning.”

“Screw them.” She scowled, “It’s your decision, not theirs.”

And, well, how could he not laugh at the sheer audacity of her words? “You’re always so eloquent.” She smiled for him, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She was studying him, trying to work out the missing piece of a puzzle she couldn’t fully see. “The truth is I’ve been thinking about it ever since I joined the Tempest team, but I never took my own thoughts seriously. I thought it was impossible. But it occurred to me months ago… we’ve poured our hearts into a ship that we, or I guess I, will never see. I’ll never know if it really worked, I’ll never see its true potential. And that… I don’t know. I’ve put my heart and soul into the Tempest, and flying her through Altama…” He trailed off, but Sara seemed to understand anyway. She nodded slowly, allowing him his time to process through the spoken word. “Does that bother you?” He asked after a minute. He wasn’t entirely sure why her opinion mattered so much, but he couldn’t continue without asking.

“Why would that bother me?” She was genuinely confused by the question, he could see it plain as day.

“You were pretty upset at Altama. Do you... not want me flying the Tempest?”

Her eyes widened in realization, then turned to sadness— although not the kind of sadness he’d expected. It was like she was upset that he had to ask the question at all. “Oh Kal, that’s not it. I think you’ll be the best pilot in Andromeda. And anyway, you shouldn’t need my opinion to go for it. This is your choice.” She could see the conflicting emotions in his features, his excitement at being asked weighed against his own uncertainty and the scorn his family felt about it all. “What’s stopping you?” She asked him, the same way Lucille had asked her, the question that had helped her so much.

He thought about it for a few minutes, and Sara didn’t rush him. He needed time to organize his thoughts, categorize them, let them settle in his mind. Her presence seemed to help calm him, at any rate, and that was all that mattered. “I don’t know.” He replied honestly, “I have family here but I’ve never been close to them. If I stay I’d return to test piloting but… I wonder if that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to do more with my pilot’s license than just test other people’s ships. The Tempest is my ship. Our ship. Finding a hundred thousand colonists a home is certainly a big step up.”

She smiled for him, leaning to catch his wandering gaze, “Sounds to me like you’ve already made up your mind, you just haven’t admitted it to yourself yet.” Kallo looked at her for a long few moments, taking a slow inhale in before letting it all out in one great heave, allowing his tension and confusion to bleed out with it.

“Wouldn’t it be amazing if we were both assigned to our Tempest?” He smiled as he spoke that more private idea aloud, letting their conversation drift somewhere more pleasant. Sara mercifully took it, and grinned wide for him.

“I’d hope so! What would a girl do without the best damn pilot in the Milky Way, huh?”

He knew immediately that he’d given her too much leeway there. “The best pilot?” He deadpanned, “Really, you’re going to make that joke?”

Sara’s grin was nothing short of cheeky, “An ace pilot with his ace best friend.” She finished with a flourish. Kallo groaned purely for show, making her cackle at her own stupid joke. She only laughed harder when he shoved her.

“That’s terrible. You’re terrible.”

Her grin was so cheeky it was about to run off to cause mischief of it’s own accord, “You love me and you know it.”

“I wonder sometimes.”

Sara gasped, thoroughly offended, clutching her chest as if she had pearls there to swear by, “I’m _hurt_. Stabbed me right through the heart, you cloaca.”

Kallo laughed at the term she’d picked up from him, laughing and clapping for her, “Hey, you’re learning!” She shoved him right back, which he absolutely deserved. 

“Jerk.” She smiled, and he only laughed more.

Once he had calmed down Sara shook her head fondly, picking her bag of beads back up and pulling out a new piece of thread. “Hold out your wrist, would ya?” 

He looked down at her, confused, “What?”

“Your wrist.” She touched his left wrist, gently pulling it over her lap. He held it there obligingly, if nothing but to humor her, “I need a base, you’ll do.” 

“Should I be offended?”

She smiled lightly, focused on her task, “Absolutely not.”

Kallo watched in fascination as Sara used his wrist as a measurement. She measured her thread before pulling it through a needle, then she began to set beads on the thread in an order he couldn’t decipher, colors of red and pink and white. She began to twist and twine them together to form a pattern, and he kept his wrist as still as possible for her task.

Soon he wasn’t watching her hands. His eyes traveled up to her face, watching her as she worked. Her face was calmer than it would be otherwise; there were usually a thousand things on her mind that flashed across her face in split-second emotions that only those close to her would notice. But as she worked with her beads there was no flicker, no passing thoughts to distract her. She was solely focused on the task at hand, a rarity in the chaotic and often tempestuous mind that was Sara Ryder. The little content smile on her face was rapidly becoming one of the softest expressions he’d ever seen.

Oh, he was a goner.

After a few moments Sara felt Kallo’s eyes on her. She looked up at him, seeing a soft smile there that she’d not seen before. He was distracted… distracted by _her_ , and that brought about more than a few emotions that made her blush.

“What?” She asked, a little breathless. If he noticed, he didn’t comment on it.

“Nothing.” He told her in a silky tone that was very much unlike him, “I’m just wondering if there’s anything you can’t do.”

Well that made her blush fully, her cheeks and ears growing hot instantly. She quickly looked away in embarrassment, but his gaze didn’t falter.

“I…” She coughed to try and cover her reaction, “I can’t cook. You know that.”

“Doesn’t seem like a huge inconvenience.” He argued half-heartedly, only to see her reaction. She had to clear her throat again to try and regain some semblance of a train of thought, but she couldn’t help but look back into his eyes, which would easily be the death of her and any trains of thought she might have otherwise.

She would welcome a death that sweet.

“Well, I— My grandmother knew how to make really beautiful patterns. I’m a novice compared to her.”

“And compared to me you’re an expert.” He countered with heart-stopping sincerity, “Your skill is more than enough.”

Her smile could only be described as shy, and he felt more than privileged to bare witness to a sight so rare, “Practice and hard work, right?” She muttered quietly, just for them.

“Right…” He breathed, and she could only look away again, overwhelmed and embarrassed in the best and most beautiful way. She got back to work, and Kallo treasured the chance to watch.

Something had changed between them. Something was heavier, heady, something more serious in the air. Something neither of them had much want or need to name at the moment. But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. No, instead of fighting it they embraced it like the fools they knew each other to be.

—

Their time on Sur’Kesh was rapidly coming to an end. A few more weeks and Sara would be leaving to join the Initiative properly. The facility would be given back to the Salarian Union and repurposed, and everyone there would move on with their lives. It was a bittersweet time that they all tried to slow down as much as possible.

One afternoon, their work was slow and her crew had been whispering back and forth all day. They seemed to think Sara hadn’t noticed, but she had, and she was starting to get annoyed at being out of the loop. But just as she was about to tell them off for keeping her out of the secret, her friends surrounded her desk with pleased and excited looks on their faces.

Sara looked at all of them in turn before looking directly at Lucille. “What did I do?” She asked blandly, expecting a lecture.

“Nothing.” She reassured Sara with a self-satisfied smirk.

“What did Teon do?” Sara rephrased her question with a not so subtle smug smile thrown at the Quarian.

“Hey!”

Lucille rolled her eyes fondly, “Oh never mind, here. This is for you.” Lucille handed Sara a pamphlet. Turning it over, she found it regarded internal synthetics which replaced missing organic bodily parts and functions. With a sigh Sara stood and tried to hand the pamphlet back.

“You know how much internal synthetics cost, right? It’s more than I’d make in years. Believe me, I’ve looked around.”

Lucille grinned and pressed the pamphlet more firmly into Sara’s hand, “We know it’s too much for one person, but not for a lot of people.” When Sara said nothing through her confusion, she continued, “You’re going to need to be at your best for Andromeda, the Initiative is counting on you to be at full capacity, and double vision would make your job considerably easier. We’re going to pay for it.”

There was nothing that could have prepared Sara for the shock of hearing such news. It took her a few minutes, looking from the pamphlet to each of her friends, who watched her reaction with giddy smiles, thoroughly pleased that they had surprised her.

“…What?” She tried, unable to form a coherent thought. She had no idea how to respond, no idea what to say, “You… WHAT?!”

“We’ve been raising money for the operation,” O’Connell explained, “pretty much everyone in the engineering and science wings donated. Managed to keep it right under your nose with a little clever scheming.”

Sara stared at them with a wide eye, shocked beyond belief. Lucille took pity on her and gave her more thorough information, which she sorely needed. “You’ll have to travel to the Capital, Talat. You’ll stay for two days time for the operation, and by law I must order you to stay away from any construction sites for a week more, but you’ll have full functionality. They'll even be able to replace the skin of your upper and lower eyelids, as well as your eyelashes, they'll look completely normal again. We’ve had the appointment set for a while now, you can get it done one week from today.”

When Sara didn’t speak Kallo piped up, and because he knew her best he had volunteered for the exact job he knew would make her feel most comfortable, “I’ll go with you so you don’t get lost. Talat is notoriously cramped and difficult for visitors to navigate.”

“You can’t be serious.” She muttered in a daze, her brain making a dial-up noise instead of actual thoughts.

“We’re perfectly serious.” Lucille told her, “Consider it our parting gift to you. Don’t want you going to a completely unknown galaxy without all your bases covered.”

“But…” Sara flailed a little, “But it’s so expensive, I couldn’t possibly ask for—!” Sorenna placed her hand on Sara’s shoulder to stop her fidgeting. All of her attention pivoted to the Asari, who gave her a reassuring look in return.

“You’re not asking,” She said, “we’re giving. The donations are done, so I suggest you deal with it.”

Sara stared at them for a long few moments before she noticed their faces change, eyes welling up with tears. It took her another moment to realize that she herself was crying, a steady stream of tears flowing down her cheek with no end in sight. Mortified and grateful and overwhelmed beyond reckoning, Sara covered her eyes with her hand and only half attempted to hide her own watery smile. They all let out teary-eyed laughter, and Sorenna pulled her into a tight hug.

“You guys are ridiculous.” Her voice shook with the pure love she felt for her dearest friends, “Thank you so much.”

One week later, Sara and Kallo were on a train to Talat. Sara had never traveled this way, and the two decided to make an adventure out of the trip. They took the scenic route, the train winding through jungle paths, beside great cliffs and around towering mountains. For hours they watched the world roll by, Kallo pointing out cities and animal species and geological features of the planet he knew so well. Sur’Kesh was more beautiful than Sara had ever had the chance to appreciate, and she snapped a quick picture of the two of them before their ride came to an end.

Talat was huge, far larger than any of Earth’s cities. It was big and complex and packed with people, some areas packed shoulder-to-shoulder. Kallo led her through it all, headed for a large hospital toward the center of the city, pointing out special features along the way. Many rivers and waterfalls ran through Talat, creating a beautiful background noise which made the chaos a little easier to mentally manage. Eventually they reached their destination, and Sara was admitted.

Kallo stayed with her those two days. He stayed in her hospital room as a nurse went through all of her pre-screenings, preparing her for surgery. When it was time Kallo squeezed her hand before they put her under, and when it was done she awoke to Kallo at her side. He went further than stay with her— he remembered pertinent information that she’d forgotten as the anesthesia had begun to take effect. She’d never been more grateful for a person than that exact moment.

Finally, at the end of the second day, Sara was released. Kallo had gone out to grab them some lunch while Sara signed a mountain of paperwork and got her bandages removed. She looked in the mirror and marveled at modern technology— there wasn’t any indication left that she’d had surgery at all. She had a new eye that functioned perfectly, her eyelids and eye socket repaired. They couldn’t remove the grisly scars down the side of her face, they had been there too long, but Sara had grown used to them over the years and found she didn’t mind. When she looked closely at her eye she could tell it was synthetic, but from a normal distance there wasn’t any hint of a difference between it and her organic eye.

Sara walked out of that hospital and took in the world with double vision for the first time in two years. It was a bit strange, if she were honest, and she felt a little nauseous. She was suddenly getting two times the visual input, and though her muscle memory was kicking in the city was a little chaotic for her new vision. That was a small price to pay, though— they would be leaving the city soon enough anyway.

Kallo had told her to meet him on the bridge just outside the hospital, and when she looked for him she found him leaning against the railing staring at the river beyond. She went to him immediately, noting the faraway look on his face and the takeout bag on his arm, waiting for her.

“Hey.” She said once she was next to him, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Hey!” He grinned as if he hadn’t been somewhere far away, “You look good.”

“It’s not weird?” She asked him, just to make sure, “Do I look the same as before?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, “You’d only notice if you were really close.”

“That’s good.” She breathed out a relieved sigh, looking out over the water instead of the crowds of people. The water was significantly less nauseating.

Kallo didn’t move from his spot, and Sara wasn’t in much rush to move, getting used to her new vision. She focused on him, and that seemed to help even more than looking at the water, so she kept her gaze there and noted his thoughtful expression.

“Still thinking about Andromeda?” She asked him.

“Actually… I’m going to accept Ms. Garson’s offer. I need to do this, I know that. I just wonder what I’m leaving behind, a galaxy full of life, the crew…”

“You’re family?

His smile was so sad, so crushing, it broke her heart.

“They promptly disowned me when I called.” He said, “It seems following my own dreams makes me ungrateful and selfish.”

“No, it doesn’t.” She told him, placing her hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him, “Of course it doesn’t. Its your life, simple as that.”

He shook his head slowly, eyes somewhere else, in a time period that was not the present. “You know, they never cared about what I wanted, so I stopped caring about what they wanted for me. My mother cared about me as her son but I have seventeen brothers and three sisters, it gets crowded. I got along with them growing up but I never actually connected to anyone in my family. The only time I was really noticed was when I broke the rules and became a pilot. I left in the middle of the night and just… never went back.” Sara kept silent, fascinated; Kallo _never_ talked about his family or his past with them, never allowed himself that kind of vulnerability. It was a shift in their relationship, and Sara would not turn away from it. “I talk to a few of my brothers but not often. They live like every other clan; shove your kids into the best role you can and if they excel then that’s great, they get the breeding contracts and a stake in the history books, if not there’s thirty others who can do what they can’t. Excellence is expected.”

She squeezed his arm, “Kal, you’re amazing at the work you do, you’re easily the best pilot I’ve ever known. If they can’t see that then that’s their loss. There’s nothing wrong with choosing your own path.”

“I wish they were as open-minded as you are.” He muttered, “I just can’t… I don’t feel upset about them, and that kind of bothers me. We’re a paradoxical people by nature, always have been. We feel deeply, we’re wholly passionate about the work we do, we pour our lives and souls into what we do knowing that our work makes a difference to the galactic community. Unfortunately that passion doesn’t always translate. My kind tend to do the wrong things while passionately thinking they’re right.” He sighed lightly, “I can’t feel sad for their loss. A paradox in its own right.”

Sara wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It was something that she did have trouble understanding— for all her families complications, they never wavered in their love and support for one another. Sara never approved of the things her parents did, but she never even considered abandoning them. To just be dropped from a family like that…

“Maybe family doesn’t have to be the people who raised you.” She shrugged her shoulders lightly, “Our little band here feels like a crazy family sometimes.”

Kallo hummed, “I’m not sure I know what “family” feels like, but I am going to miss them. Honestly, I’m glad you’re going to be there. It’s comforting to know that neither of us will be alone once the Arks meet back up with the Nexus.”

“Can’t imagine being there with anyone else.” She told him honestly, hoping it would settle him a little. It didn’t— Kallo was fidgeting, so Sara kept quiet.

“Sara, I—’ He huffed, a little irritated with his own stuttering, “I’ve never talked about this with anyone. Family is a… touchy subject in the Union, don’t want to create some diplomatic incident by airing out that kind of baggage. Keeping quiet, keeping secrets, it’s so normal and… I hate it so much. So, thanks. For letting me be honest.”

Sara smiled mischievously, “I could easily create some diplomatic incidents via my fists, if you want me to.” She said, hoping some laughter would lighten his mood. It worked like a charm, Kallo snorted without having the energy to care about whether or not it was undignified of him to do so. 

“While I appreciate the sentiment, absolutely not. Regardless of what’s gone on, they don’t deserve it. Even if my family is a bit…”

“Arduous?” She suggested, “Hardass?” She added, just to make him smile again. And smile he did.

“Your eloquence is overwhelming lately, Sara.” He chuckled despite himself.

“Yeah yeah, I know your true feelings on the subject.” Kallo laughed heartily, and Sara was satisfied that the weight he was carrying was lifted, if only a little bit.

Once Sara wasn’t fully focused on him, her nausea came roaring back and her vision swam a little. She groaned to herself and lowered her head, shutting her eyes and rubbing at her temples, the visual input starting to become overwhelming. Kallo noticed, and furrowed his brows in concern.

“Are you okay?” He asked, placing his hand on her back in an attempt to soothe her.

“Fine.” She muttered, “It’s just— a _lot_ of visual input.”

“Do we need to leave?”

“Yes please.”

Kallo held out his arm for her, allowing Sara to take it with a firm grip. Together they left for the nearest shuttle bay, and switched their flight to the soonest possible time. And if on the way back Sara buried her face in Kallo’s arm to avoid the lights and movement, he didn’t say a word about it.

It took Sara over a week to get used to her new eye. She’d thought that she’d easily revert back to the double vision she was used to, but her eyes were not cooperating. So Sara worked a little slower, moved a little slower, and ran into desks and door frames a few times by accident. Her crew didn’t tease her for it, they instead gently guided her when absolutely necessary and ignored her stumbling the rest of the time. Eventually, however, Sara did get used to double vision again, and the freedom that provided was a relief she hadn’t quite expected.

Then, one afternoon, Kallo marched into the office and dropped a little booklet onto Sara’s desk, right in front of her nose. An Initiative passport.

Smiling, Sara looked into Kallo’s eyes and saw nothing but fierce determination staring back at her, and she knew that he had no further regrets about his decision. It was done.

They were going to Andromeda.

—

Kallo was pleasantly tipsy. The evening was warm, he had a glass of bourbon in his hand, and Sara was sitting on his couch drinking right along with him. The end of the week had never been sweeter.

They were close to their departure date, only a few days out, and the pair were drinking together for what would be the last time for a long time. Sara had started giggling in a certain way, which confirmed her tipsiness to him. She only giggled like that when she was floating between sober and drunk. It was one of his favorite giggles, not that he would ever admit that.

"This'll be my last," Sara sighed, swirling the liquid in her glass, "gotta-- gotta get home n'all."

"You can jus' stay." Kallo replied, like he always did whenever they had this conversation. It happened every time they drank together, which wasn't more than once every month or so, but it was still a pleasant routine. Kallo knew she would stay, Sara knew she would say, but the argument about her staying was a matter of principle.

"Don't wanna impose. Or bother. You know."

"Not imposing. Not a bother. You're never a bother." Kallo sunk deeper into the couch cushions, letting himself relax, closing his eyes, content, "You're m'best friend. The best thing. Person. Whatever. The best. I'd let you stay always, if you wanted."

His brain caught up with his mouth, and Kallo's eyes snapped open. He was more drunk than he thought. He looked to Sara, expecting her to say something like 'thanks but no thanks', careful not to hurt his feelings. But she didn't. Her head, which rested on the back of the couch, rolled to face him, and she smiled.

"I forget to clean up my shit. All th'time. You'd hate it."

Kallo sputtered out an incredulous laugh, "Well I… I think I could handle that." He told her honestly, "I can space out for hours at'a time, if I got nothin' else t'do. Lose track of everything. You'd worry."

Her smile somehow became even softer. "Think I could handle that."

This… this was new. And not a conversation Kallo could deal with while drunk. He saw Sara's face shift and knew she was thinking the same thing, her posture taking on an uncomfortable edge. "So," he cleared his throat, "you're gonna stay, right? I insist." He asked, hoping he hadn't ruined their routine.

Sara's smile returned, amused more than anything. He watched her relax again and knew he’d said the right thing. "Yeah. I'll stay."

Kallo nodded firmly, "Good."

It was good, everything was good. His life was good, his work was good, and Sara was good, she was right there next to him. He wouldn't trade the moment for the world.

Just then, someone knocked on his front door. He groaned aloud, the pleasant moment broken. He wanted it back.

Sara laughed, "I can get it." 

"No, no. Stay." He ordered, getting up, "My house. You're m'guest." Sara hummed in agreement, sipping her drink.

Kallo walked to the door-- not too drunk to see and walk straight, that was good-- and opened the door. The face on the other side was one he had not seen in a very long time, and one he did not care to see again.

"Jath." Kallo winced, just a little, yet still straightened up and glared.

"Brother." He hissed, thoroughly annoyed, "What the hell are you doing here, Kurn?"

Kurn looked him up and down, obviously displeased by his drunken state. "Delivering a message." He replied curtly.

"Then mail it to me." Kallo snapped, a little too harshly. Kurn just glared at him.

"Umm…" a nervous voice from behind him stuttered, "I can-- I can go, if…"

Sara. He'd forgotten, for a moment, that she was there. "No," he called back to her, gentler, "you stay right there. Kurn will be leaving."

"What in--" Kurn looked over his shoulder, and his face morphed into shock. "You're with a human?" He demanded harshly.

"Yes. It's our night off and we're drinking and I would very much like to get back to my Sara now, so deliver what you want and then leave, please."

Rain's grace, he was far more drunk than he wanted to be.

Kurn had the nerve to look disgusted, "Rivers, give me strength." He muttered under his breath, "I cannot discuss sensitive matters with a human present."

"Oh I don't think she minds, do you Sara?"

"Nope." Sara raised her glass in mock solemnity, "I'm good at not talking about shit. Very sensitive, me." Kallo snorted out a laugh, and Kurn was turning a delightful shade of green.

"I must insist that she leaves," Kurn indicated Sara without looking at her, "so that you and I can talk in private."

"Nope." Kallo replied firmly, "She is welcome here, you are not. Moreover, I am entirely too drunk for this conversation so say it now or get out."

Kurn stared at him. Kallo stared back. Finally his brother dropped his shoulders and relented. 

"Dalatrass wants a meeting with you," he said, "she thinks you've gone too far and demands you return home to explain yourself."

“She disowned me.” Kallo ground out— _this_ was what he’d come for? “I’m not beholden to her demands.”

“She changed her mind.” Kurn explained impatiently, “You will return home.”

"No." Kallo put his foot down, drawing his line in the sand, the line he’d rather die on, "I've got too much to do before we ship out. My decision is made, and she's just going to have to deal with that."

"You can't say no, Jath."

"Kallo." Sara spoke up. The two looked back at her; if looks could kill, Kurn would be a pillar of salt. "He goes by Kallo. You better respect that."

Kurn didn't bother to acknowledge her. He turned back to Kallo, revolted by her presence. "You can't say no." He repeated, "I've come to collect you. We're leaving."

That was a first. A first that Kallo had been afraid of for years. And judging by the look on Kurn's face, he knew it.

Sara shot up off the couch in an instant, storming over with the wrath of God behind her. "Try it, you weasel. I dare you." She cracked her knuckles, thankfully sober enough to stand stably, "Touch him and you'll find the offending hand thrown to the other side of the valley, without you attached."

Kurn glared at her. Sara glared back. When he took a half-step forward, Sara flared her biotics at him. Kallo hadn't seen her so furious in a long time. Kurn, very wisely, backed down. Once it was clear that Kurn wasn’t going to try anything Kallo gently placed his hand on top of hers and lowered her fists with a tiny push.

"You're good. Thanks, Sara." He told her. She glanced at him for a moment before watching Kurn again, holding Kallo's arm for good measure. "I'm not leaving." Kallo told his brother, more confidently than he felt, "Get out of here before I call security on you."

Kurn watched them a moment longer. He then shook his head and left without a word.

Kallo shut the door and turned to his friend. Sara was _seething_. Amusingly, she felt more strongly about the interaction than Kallo did, and the realization made him grin with pure fondness.

"Asshat." She muttered, glaring at the door.

Kallo chuckled lightly and got her to turn her head to him. He lightly pressed his forehead against hers, whispering a thank you only she could hear. Sara didn’t mind— both of them were clingy, tactile drunks, and this was nothing new. The gesture seemed to calm her down as much as it calmed him, and she relaxed from her fight response.

After some time spent calming their emotions, the two went back to the couch and poured themselves another glass. "Does that happen often?" Sara asked him.

"Nope. First time they've sent someone to collect me." Kallo sighed, "Always hated Kurn. Loyalist jerk. My least favorite brother."

"No, not that." Sara leaned toward him, "Not using your name. That part."

"Oh, yeah." Kallo shrugged, "S' not unusual. Jath is my name."

Sara squinted at him, "Your name s' Kallo. They should respect that. Next time one of them tries that shit I'll force it into their skulls."

Kallo stared at her for a long few seconds. Sara huffed and puffed about the indignity of it all. That _something_ in his chest that he didn't want to name was _burning_.

"I'm glad you're here." Kallo told her quietly, almost too soft to hear. But Sara turned back to him and smiled, finally relaxing back into his couch.

"Me too." She said, "Who else is gonna protect you? If your family tries that shit again I _will_ cause a diplomatic incident, see if I don't."

Kallo laughed. He laughed and _laughed_ until his sides hurt, until his lungs hurt. Until Sara was staring at him in utter confusion.

"I know you would." He gasped, wiping tears from his eyes. "Let's not think on it, okay? Let's get absolutely plastered instead, and deal with the hangover and anything else tomorrow."

Sara watched him for a moment. Then she smiled, and stood to go to his kitchen. "We’ll need another bottle."

Later, when they had drunk too much and Sara had passed out, Kallo let himself dwell on that thing in his chest. He didn't know what to call it, what it meant for him. Only one thing was clear to him.

When he looked down at Sara, it _burned_. When she had curled herself into a tight ball snuggled into his side, when he lightly ran a drunken hand through her curls while she slept, it burned more brightly than he could have imagined.

He didn't know what to name it. And, if he were being honest, he didn't want to name it. Not yet, not now. Now was good. Now was perfect, just as they were.

—

It was the night before they were set to leave Sur’Kesh for the final time, and Kallo was standing in his living room facing the last person he expected to see.

His mother.

“You keep dodging my questions.” He said, arms folded defensively.

“Does a mother need a reason to visit her children, Jath?” She asked him, the name cutting like a knife in ways it never had before. Ever since Sara had been so adamant about his name, well…

“You do.” He told her, shaking off his discomfort. “I will not be forced back, not by Kurn and not by you. If She finds out you’re here you won’t get another contract.”

His mother sighed, “I’m not looking for another contract. Your sister has come of age.”

Oh. Well, he had certainly forgotten about his rather fanatic sister, all too ready to take on the responsibilities of a lady who would never be a Dalatrass. He found it rather revolting, how the choice had been taken from her. He felt for her, a sister he’d not spoken to in years. “I see.” He muttered, “How’s her clutch?”

“She lost two, but the rest are healthy.”

Kallo nodded slowly, “I wish I could have met them.” He said, mostly to himself. Then he turned his glare back to her, setting himself to stand taller, “I will not go back.” He reiterated, “If that’s why you’re here you’ve wasted your trip.”

His mother knew him, of course she did. A mother would know her children in ways others could not. But Kallo realized one fact like a torrent of ice cold water being poured down upon him— she didn’t know him as well as Sara knew him. His mother took his posture at face value, took him seriously but also literally. Sara would have immediately read between the lines. Would have seen the turmoil within him, somehow.

It was, in his opinion, a rather rude thing to suddenly come to realize while speaking with a mother he hadn’t spoken to for almost four years.

“I’m not here to make you go back.” She assured him, raising her hands placatingly, “I simply wanted to make sure that this is what you want.”

“I’ve never been one to second guess myself.”

“Yes.” There was a wistful look in her eyes that startled him, “I wish you knew how much I admire that quality.” Funny, that. His mother did not know him best, but she still knew how to turn his world on its head in just a few words. “I’m sorry I never had the means to allow you to follow your passions, but you’ve done so exquisitely. As long as this is what you truly want I’m not going to stand in your way.”

“But Dalatrass—”

“Does not concern me.” She cut in sternly, removing any room for argument, “Soon you won’t have to worry about Her either.”

“That’s it?” He breathed, eyes widening in honest shock, “You’re just going to let me go?”

“Not until I get to say goodbye, and give you this.”

His mother opened up her Omni-Tool and typed in some numbers. Kallo’s own Tool dinged, and when he looked he could see what she had sent him.

“Credits?” 

She nodded, “I haven’t been able to give you much in your life, but I can give you this.” She studied his face for what would be the last time, smiling at what she saw there. For the first time since it all began, Kallo felt truly rattled. “Our world failed you long ago, our family most of all… I hope Andromeda meets all your hopes and dreams. I’m sure you’ll do extraordinary things.”

He let out a breath of tension that had been years in the making. “Mom, I…” He faltered.

“Don’t say your sorry.” She told him in place of his missing words, “Just make sure you leave before She tries something else.”

“We’re shipping out soon.”

“Good.” His mother stepped forward then and put her hand on her son’s cheek. His mother had never been a tactile individual, had always kept a careful distance from everyone. It was as unusual as it was comforting, and he sunk into her touch for the last time. “You’re a fine young Salarian, no matter what She says. Take care of yourself.”

Kallo placed his hand over hers and held on tightly, allowing himself just a moment to grieve. She seemed to feel the same, raising her other hand to frame his face. Gently, so gently, she brought their foreheads together and held him there. 

“Chart those new stars, Jath. Give them a path to follow, and don’t turn back. Don’t you ever live your life wondering.”

And Kallo, choked and grieving for his family for the first time in his life, could do nothing but agree. “I won’t mom. Thank you.”

\--

**The following section has been narrated--[Listen as you read!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsyyZRYDU1A&feature=youtu.be)**

—

Kallo didn’t know what had brought him to Sara’s door in the middle of the night. His mother had only just left, he should have felt on top of the world, truly free for the first time. Instead… instead…

His resolve was broken, and he rang her doorbell twice, not really thinking about the hour. After a moment he could hear some shuffling inside, a few bumps and a grumble before the door slid open.

Sara was in her pajamas, barely awake and bleary-eyed, squinting into the harsh lights of the hallway. She pulled on a robe with zero precision, seeming to need a moment before processing that Kallo was standing there, staring at her with the sudden realization of how late it was and how rude it was to wake her up for no reason at all.

“Hey.” She muttered, mercifully not annoyed but notably tired, her voice gruff from sleep, “You know what time it is, right?” She scrubbed a few tears out of her eye, slowly waking up.

“I… yeah.” Something in his voice seemed to smart her. She straightened, actually _looking_ at him for the first time, taking in the deep distress that rested on his face. “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have... You go back to sleep, I'll—”

He tried to back away, but Sara grabbed firm hold of his arm. “Don’t be sorry.” She told him with a smile, “You look like you need a friend.”

And, well, that was all it took. He broke, and grabbed her up in a hug before he even realized he was moving. She returned his hug easily, rubbing his back with one hand, holding the back of his head with the other, letting him tremble in her arms.

“Breathe.” She whispered, “I’m here. I’m here.”

As it turned out it was the early hours of the morning, and the sun would be rising soon. Sara had allowed him a minute in the hallway before gently ushering him inside, yawning and going to her kitchen. They didn’t bother to turn on any lights, instead they left her apartment dark with only the barely risen sun to give them light. It made the space seem so strangely safe, and Kallo felt a bit more free to speak. Sara got a glass of water and her medications and brought them out to the table so they could talk, and she gave herself a few minutes to wake up fully before attempting to take her daily dosage.

Kallo had started to describe what had happened, had mentioned his mother before needing to stop and process. He had paced aimlessly for a little while, mulling it all over. Sara felt the usual unpleasant morning effects on her system, and after finally taking her medications she had to wait a short time for them to kick in, making her head swim with confusion. She didn’t notice Kallo stopping at the window, or his voice as he started to talk again. That confused him, and he finally looked at her to see her head slumped down into her hands.

“Sara?” She didn’t answer him, so he tried again, a little louder this time, “Sara?”

She heard him that time, and jumped a little at the suddenness of his voice. “Yeah?” She muttered, scrubbing at her eyes ineffectively. 

“You don’t look well.” He said, “Are you sure it's okay for me to stay?”

“Of course, Kal.” She waved him off without looking up fully, “You’ve just caught a non-medicated Sara, shit’s hazy. Just need a few minutes.” She took another drink of her water, pointedly ignoring the sad look on Kallo’s face. She knew he didn’t mean it as pity— sometimes he just couldn’t help feeling a little sad about it all. “So they’re really letting you go?” She asked to change the subject, “I don’t have to knock a few heads together?”

That got a little laugh out of her friend, “No. I’m free to go, I just… expected a little more resistance from mom.”

“Figured you’d be happy.”

“I don’t know.” He sighed, “She’s never visited me before, you know. Not until I’m about to leave for good. That said, she’s never left Sur’Kesh in her life, always been happy on the ground. I never expected her to see the opportunities behind the Initiative… I suppose I underestimated her.”

She nodded slowly; she knew a thing or two about underestimating a parent. “Anything you need?” 

“Just to leave.”

Sara hummed lightly, keeping her eyes on the table as her vision was starting to even out. She could feel herself coming out of the haze, ready to take on the day. “We’re so close now. How different is Andromeda going to be? Think we’ll recognize anything?”

Kallo shrugged lightly, watching the sunlight beginning to grow brighter as the sun came closer to rising, “I think there will be some constants, but the point of going is to discover the unknown, isn’t it? To find a new normal.”

“You think… think there might be something…” When Kallo turned to look, he saw Sara absently fiddling with one of her medication bottles. She had a finger on the tap, rolling it around its base, contemplative and… a little scared. “Something…”

“I— I don’t know.” He told her honestly, “Maybe. We could look for—”

His thought died when she smiled, something resigned just there in her eyes. “Wishful thinking. There’s a hundred thousand colonists to worry about, no reason to waste time on me. I won’t ask that of anyone.”

He watched her a few moments, some series of emotions passing across her face that he didn’t recognize. Perhaps emotions he couldn’t recognize.

“Are you scared?” He asked, careful to keep his voice low, as if he might disturb the murky gray shadows the sun had not yet dispelled.

“Of what?”

“Dying.”

She considered what her answer would be for a long few moments. The shadows slowly brightened, but somehow they seemed darker around her frame. Finally, she looked at him. The haze seemed to be gone. “Are you?” She asked him. 

Kallo had never been absolutely _floored_ by a question, but there they were. She was right, after all— they had roughly the same lifespan, and he’d never thought about his own mortality before. Never had a reason to… until now. Sara held his gaze, and spoke again as he tried to collect himself. “I might not wake up.” She reminded him pointedly, “My mind’s pretty useless if my body gives way, and the colonists need my mind.”

He took in a shaky breath, “You’re dodging my question.”

Sara huffed and leaned back in her chair with enough force to make it scrape backwards a little. She threw her arm over the chair and turned her torso toward him, staring him down. “I’m scared of a lot of things, Kal.” She admitted, “I’m scared of forgetting. I’m scared of being alone when my time comes. I’m scared of how painful my finals days will be, and I’m scared of the pain I’ll put others through-- if I don’t make it to Andromeda it’ll hurt you and Scott and my dad the most. The people I care for the most. That hurts me more than I can describe. Death, by comparison, is no different than my own shadow; always with me, even if I can’t see it at the moment, so familiar to me that fear is inconsequential. I can’t fear what is mine.”

Kallo had never felt so shaken, like part of him was torn open at the seams. It was a side of Sara that he knew was there, but rarely saw— depth from years contemplating what life really meant. She’d had many hours to think on it. And though she wasn’t much of a philosophical type, every now and then a spark of wisdom would shine through, making him question so many things he thought he knew.

Sara, for her part, looked a bit sheepish upon dropping that bombshell. She looked away to allow Kallo time to collect himself, clearing her throat awkwardly. “So no,” She muttered, “I’m not scared of dying. I just fear that none of this will be worth it, that jumping galaxies will be for nothing.”

Kallo did take a little time to compose himself, taking in a deep breath, settling himself. But in that moment of reflection her fears did strike home, struck a nerve he himself had felt, and hearing it from her seemed… well, ridiculous. 

“Ridiculous.” He muttered, mostly to himself. Sara heard him, though, and her head snapped to stare at him with wide eyes.

“What?” She asked, a little hoarse, wondering if she’d misheard.

“That’s ridiculous.” Kallo repeated, firmer this time, feeling the truth of it settle in deep. “All of this, every second is worth it. Going to Andromeda is worth it. It’s worth it because you’re going.” Sunlight began to truly filter into the room, highlighting dust particles that hung between them. The light caught in Sara’s wide eyes. “We’re doing something no one has ever done before. We’re going to see so many incredible things, do so many incredible things. This is worth it. A single minute would be worth it, because we’ll be there.”

She let out a very slow breath, processing. Then with something like awe in her voice, she whispered, “We?”

“Yeah.” Kallo nodded, sure as anything, “Once we're there we'll take our Tempest and fly, just the two of us. We'll go find something new and wondrous, something we've never seen. I'll take you there before… before.”

When Kallo turned back to Sara he saw her swiftly look away with a shy smile and the faintest hint of a blush gracing her cheeks. He took it as his personal accomplishment of the day.

“Do you make such grand promises to every girl you know?” She teased, although the sincerity behind her words did not escape him.

“Only the genius mathematicians.” He replied, and she _giggled_. What a rare treat.

Both were startled when a burst of light flooded the room. The sun had finally broken the horizon, bathing the entire room in golden hues. Sara, now stable, stood from the table and came to stand next to Kallo, watching the sunrise with him. With it came a sense of lightness, a feeling of freedom. A new dawn just beginning.

“Hey…” She near whispered, afraid to break the quiet of morning, “Would you make me one more promise?”

Her fingers brushed the back of his hand. He didn’t pull away.

“Of course.”

Emboldened, Sara reached the rest of the way. Kallo’s hand was waiting for hers, and they met in the middle, hands clasped tightly as the sun brought its warmth.

“Don’t ever let me forget this.”

He squeezed her hand, “Never.” He swore to her, “I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can see the audio uploaded by AlmostPotter, the voice actor for Kallo in this section, with some art to match, **[here!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nWLtYTZZPc&feature=emb_title)**


	10. Initiative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dad.” She stopped him, she had to. She moved closer to him, close enough to really look him in the eye, to feel the anxiety he hid from everyone else in existence. But he couldn’t hide from her. He never could. “Stop it. You’ve done this my whole life.” And she felt such pity for him, had always seen it in his eyes, the desperate fear of being alone. Of losing the people he loved most, even if showing that love was hard. The fear that, for all his strength and intellect, he wouldn’t be good enough to save his own family. And Sara… well, she wasn’t in a position to demand salvation. She’d never expected it, never asked for it, and somehow Alec had taken that as a personal challenge. A torch she’d never wanted him to bare. “SAM can’t save me. _You_ can’t save me, you don’t _need_ to save me. You need to accept that.”
> 
> \--
> 
> Sara and Kallo must separate for different Initiative vessels. Some feelings are expressed, some plans are hatched, and Sara has a discussion with her father that leaves her wondering where she stood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late, I was out of town and then my computer went down! I'll try to have the next one ready by Sunday as usual. Enjoy!

It was a cool and rainy day as Sara and Kallo were spending their last moments breathing in the Sur’Kesh air. They stood under an overhang and watched the rain fall. Kallo stuck out his hand, allowing the rain to drip on his hand, falling in beads from his hand to his wrist, then down his arm before falling off at his elbow. He shivered a little at the sensation— it was going to be a long time before he felt rain on his skin again, he knew.

“It’ll be hard not to miss this.” He muttered absently, “The trees, the air…”

Sara reached up and pat his shoulder, “We’ll find you a nice jungle in Andromeda.” She promised him. He knew she couldn’t promise such things, but when she said it with her confidence he still believed her.

“I could go for beach front property too, there’s options.” Sara laughed lightly, giving his shoulder a squeeze before letting her hand drop back to her side. Kallo removed his hand from the rain when it began to get a little too chilly.

“No turning back?” She asked him. He squared his shoulders— he was ready to go, and so was she. 

“No turning back.”

The pair had already packed their bags— neither had much beyond their necessities, used to moving from place to place frequently. The habit made it easy to pack for the strict requirements of the Initiative, who only allowed a certain amount of luggage per person. They went to the docking bay to await their shuttle to the Citadel— a few others were preparing to board the shuttle with them, saying goodbye to friends they’d made on such a momentous project. 

Sara and Kallo were soon joined by Lucille, Teon, Sorenna and O’Connell for their final goodbyes. They’d all had drinks together as a farewell, a celebration, but this felt more… personal. There was a sadness that hung around them, the cold reality washing over them that they would never see each other again. 

“Now you two look out for each other,” Lucille ordered, always so motherly, “and be careful out there.”

“A new galaxy. Don’t alienate them too much.” O’Connell grinned, grabbing Sara’s shoulder and giving her a playful shake. She overlapped his arm with her own, grasping his shoulder right back.

“I’m more worried about you alienating the remainder of the Milky Way.” She joked right back, sly smile in place.

“Is that why you’re leaving?”

“Why else?”

Teon laughed heartily as O’Connell gasped, “Ooooh,” He breathed, “That hurts.” Using his grip on her arm, O’Connell pulled Sara in and ruffled up her hair, making her squirm and laugh. It was a forced lightness, but they would take anything they could get.

Sorenna was the only one not laughing. She’d stood back when the group had arrived, and hadn’t really engaged. She was withdrawn, sullen, so unlike her usual joyful disposition. Kallo finally gave her a look and held out his hand, silently beckoning her forward. She went, grabbed his hand and slotted against him, hugging him tightly with unshed tears.

Almost immediately the rest of the crew joined in until they were all wrapped around both Sara and Kallo, not a dry eye among them. “Stay safe.” Sorenna whispered into the hug, “You two do us all proud.”

“You guys made it possible.” Kallo replied, unsure if he was supposed to feel grief over friends who still lived. But it was there, hanging over them like a shroud even as they broke from their hug, intercom announcing the arrival of their shuttle.

There wasn’t anything to say that hadn’t already been said, yet it felt as though there were a million words trapped in their chests waiting to be spoken— that would never be spoken. They didn’t have time. There was never enough time.

“Live well.” Lucile told them, clearing her throat to hide the trembling.

“You too.” Sara nodded, not bothering to hide her tears, “All of you.”

They picked up their bags, their shuttle being boarded. “Godspeed.” O’Connell told them, and it seemed to do the trick for them all. It was enough to allow Kallo and Sara to leave, to finally board that shuttle. They watched out the window as they lifted off, silently watching their friends until they couldn’t see the facility anymore. 

The two held each other’s hands, and they wondered.

—

Sara and Kallo had been nervous about returning to the Citadel. They hadn’t been back since the attack, and would have to wait several hours for their respective flights. They were able to get a shuttle out of the Presidium, at least, away from the Wards which would only bring back unwelcome memories, but the Citadel was still the Citadel, and it still brought them both to a state of anxious unease.

They didn’t feel like sightseeing, so they went directly to their docking bay to wait. The two found an alcove they could hide away in and settled their bags, pulled out some food for lunch and a blanket to sit on. They certainly felt more comfortable surrounded by walls on three sides, only one entrance and exit with a clear view of docking. Still, though, it took a while for them to calm themselves down, so they sat close together and allowed themselves to relax in increments.

They passed the time talking about everything and nothing, their legs often tangled together for want of closeness. Sometimes they were quiet, writing final letters on their omni-tools or watching the ships pass by in silent contemplation. At one point Sara fell asleep on Kallo’s shoulder, and after an hour she woke up with a start, flinching as she moved her hand to grab Kallo’s arm, looking around in confusion. It only took a moment for her to regain her composure, and Kallo didn’t ask, he merely tried to act like he had begrudgingly done her a favor. The fondness in his eyes betrayed his true feelings on the matter.

The minutes ticked by until they were finally getting close to boarding. Sara would be leaving first, then Kallo would wait alone for about ten minutes before catching his own shuttle. They stood up and stretched out their aching legs and backs from sitting on the floor, waiting for that call to separate and dreading it.

“Lighten up, Kal.” She nudged him, trying to lighten their moods with a bright smile that almost didn’t reach her eyes, “We'll see each other in Andromeda.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Sara raised her right hand solemnly, “I promise to make it to Andromeda in one piece.” She swore. Then her face broke with a thought, and she slowly lowered her hand and her eyes. It was a look Kallo had seen a few times as they had approached their departure date.

“Hey.” He leaned down to catch her eye, “You’ll wake up.”

She took a moment to look into his eyes, seeming to find some courage there. Taking a deep breath, Sara nodded firmly, “I certainly hope so.” She replied. Then she perked up, eyes brightening with a new thought, “Oh!” She exclaimed, rummaging around in her backpack for a moment, “I almost forgot. This is for you.” 

Sara pulled a beaded bracelet out of her backpack, the same colors as the bracelet she had started making that day in the park on Sur’Kesh. The one she’d used Kallo’s wrist for as a base. It was a mixture of red, pink and white, with a little clasp and a triangular pattern within the beads, “To keep you safe.” She told him, handing the bracelet over. He took it reverently, looking down at the fine details, not a bead out of place that he could discern. “Not sure if you’re into good luck charms, but I figure one couldn’t hurt.”

Kallo was a little choked up, and studiously ignored that fact. He took a stabilizing breath and held the bracelet carefully, “Didn't expect you to turn to luck.”

She huffed indignantly, “I take my people’s superstitions into serious consideration, thank you very much.” And Kallo couldn’t help but laugh at the faux look of offense on her face, which gave way to a timid smile as soon as he did. “I just… I’d feel better if you had it, that’s all. I hope when you look at it you only see happy memories.”

She was so genuine, and he had no trouble matching that look on her face. A pair of soft smiles, crinkles around their eyes, soft breaths escaping their lips. They were close enough in that alcove that they could almost imagine the other’s breath on their skin.

“Thank you.” He said as she helped him put it on his wrist. It was a perfect fit, and very comfortable to wear. He ran his thumb over the beads appreciatively, “It’s amazing.”

Her eyes were caught on the movement of his thumb, but she quickly looked away when he looked back at her, “You’re welcome.” She said a little shakily, meeting his eyes for a moment before glancing away again.

Kallo wasn’t daft. He certainly wasn’t daft when it came to Sara— sometimes he felt as if he knew his friend better than he knew himself. He knew so many of her moods, her expressions, her thoughts. He wondered if he’d discovered them all, or if there were still a few he’d never seen before.

He wasn’t daft, and the fleeting glances she managed to sneak at him did not escape his notice. He just wasn’t sure what to do with them.

“Sara…” He stuttered to a stop, unsure and afraid. Kallo hadn’t wanted to name this thing yet, hadn’t wanted to change anything, but suddenly their time was running out and Kallo was considering the very real possibility that he’d never see his best friend again. The bracelet suddenly seemed to much like a goodbye present, and that was unacceptable. The idea of not knowing was suddenly too much of a weight to bare. Sara looked at him fully now, gave him such an open and earnest look that he felt emboldened enough to try again, “Sara, I— What are we doing?” He managed to ask, hearing a tremble in his own voice. He didn’t have much mind to care.

“What do you mean?” She asked him carefully, squinting a little. Like she knew what he meant, but needed to hear it from him.

“I mean _this_.” He gestured between the two of them, “What does this mean? I’ve had plenty of friends, but this… this… What is this?”

Sara stared at him for a long few moments, studying his face. He didn’t dare break from her gaze, just kept looking at her eyes as if they held the answers to his questions. Looking away would have been excruciating. Luckily, she seemed to feel the same. The fleeting glances were gone, replaced with something far more heady.

“Do we… have to label it?” She muttered quietly, another secret just for them. “We’ve never talked about it, and I don’t think we have time to put a name to this right now. Not when we’re about to be separated. I’m not sure I could… could handle that.”

 _I couldn’t handle it if something goes wrong._ Her unspoken words were broadcast loud and clear in the charged air between them. How could he say no to that?

“As long as I’m not alone in this.” He managed to say, his hands starting to tremble. “Whatever this is.” Sara noticed and gave him a brand new smile. Question answered, there were pieces of Sara he’d not yet seen, and this smile— this beautiful, open smile which brought forth a flood of emotions to her eyes— was one of them. She grabbed his hands with hers to halt their trembling. Her hands were sweating a little, but neither of them much cared.

“You’re not.” She replied, an admission that he would _never_ forget. In a single brazen motion Sara raised Kallo’s hand and placed his palm over her heart, holding it there firmly with her hand. He could feel her heart beating wildly out of control, much like his own. “This is good, I think, so lets not give it a name until we get to Andromeda. Once we get there we’ll talk.”

Whatever this was, Kallo found it made him feel just as brazen. It made him feel like the very first time he’d flown up into the sky— _free_. He turned the hand on her chest to lace their fingers together. His other hand raised up to her face, and he gently ran his fingertips across her cheek and down along the line of her jaw, further memorizing the lines. She hummed a little as her eyes fluttered closed, leaning comfortably into his touch. Emboldened, Kallo brought his hand to rest fully on the side of her face, fingers tangling in her curls. His hands were much bigger than hers, he thought absently— his hand could cup the entire back of her skull, should he place it there. A trait he’d not noticed before, but if it meant being able to hold so much of her at once he wasn’t about to complain. He carefully guided her forward until their foreheads were pressed together, shallow breath ghosting across each other’s lips. Neither felt any want or need to take it further, so they simply stood there and soaked in the moment, allowing it to speak for the time they were about to spend apart.

“Could have done this earlier.” She uttered in that teasing manner he was so fond of, ensuring it did not dislodge their closeness. A grin slid it’s way across Kallo’s face, and when he opened his eyes he found laughter shining in hers.

“Wasn’t brave enough.” He replied just as quietly.

“But now’s different?”

He nodded, just barely, so slowly that Sara’s head rocked with his, “Couldn’t let you go without asking.” 

She got a look in her eye, something serious and firm, “You’re not letting me go.” She told him. She moved then, just a little, just enough to press her lips to his cheek. He let his eyes slip closed and enjoyed the bubbling feeling of warmth it pulled from him, a puzzle piece fitting exactly where it belonged. Her lips were warm and a little dry, but still soft. Nothing had ever felt more right. “You have me, even if we’re far apart.” She whispered, lips barely brushing his cheek as she spoke, and he could only hum in agreement and hold her closer for a few precious moments.

 **“Shuttle E44 to Earth, now boarding!”** The announcement over the bay’s loudspeakers startled them both, and they suddenly remembered where they were and where they were going. Sara’s shuttle was here. It was time to go. Before they could move Sara pulled him into a fierce hug, arms wrapped around one another tightly just in case it was the last time they would get to do so.

“Be safe.” She whispered to him, a plea, an order, a prayer.

“You too.” He breathed, “Come back to me.” She pulled away, not bothering to hide the fear on her face. He could feel her thoughts, the way she looked over his face, memorizing it all over again in case she didn’t-- “You’ll wake up.” He repeated, as if speaking that event into being. As if ensuring that some higher power would, indeed, awaken her. Sara could only nod, and then the moment was gone.

They separated, and Sara grabbed her bags off the floor. With one last lingering look at Kallo she smiled, and she left. Soon Kallo was watching her board her shuttle. Soon, she was gone.

Kallo had never experienced the feeling before— feeling so full and yet so empty all at the same time. But he also felt lighter, a weight lifted from his mind, and with a deep breath he grabbed his own bags and made his way to the shuttle bay next door to catch his flight to the Nexus. No use in waiting anymore.

He could only hope the journey would feel swift, for both of them.

—

It was the middle of the night when Sara landed on Earth, somewhere in Florida. She was quick to make her way through the terminal, gathering her bags and making her way to the exit. There was hardly anyone around at this hour, which made the trek much faster for her. Soon she was at the exit, where a figure she recognized was waiting for her.

“Scotty!” She called, breaking into a run. He turned just in time to catch her as she dropped her bags and slammed into his body. Scott managed to keep them upright, and spun in a circle as Sara clung to him with both arms and legs. She’d missed him terribly after years apart.

“Sawubona!” He greeted with equal enthusiasm, “Long time no see.” He squeezed her tightly before setting her down, brushing back her hair to get a good look at her new eye. He had a wide grin on his face— he hadn’t changed since she’d seen him last, beyond the slightly longer beard that he’d been too lazy to trim. “Your eye looks great! You look like a proper mad scientist now.”

Sara snorted, “You’re just jealous.” 

He shrugged, “Tomato, tomatō.” He sing-songed back.

“Hardly.” She grinned, “I’m glad to have my full vision back but I’ll admit, I got very used to only having one eye.”

“Well if that new one ever breaks at least you won’t have any trouble adjusting, yeah?”

Scott bent down and picked up both of her bags, despite her protests. He merely shrugged her off and started leading her toward the parking lot, where he had a skycar waiting.

“When did you get in?” She asked him as they walked.

“Last night.”

“Sorry to make you wait.”

Scott shrugged as they reached the car. He popped open the back and put her bags in next to his. “It’s fine, better than making the trip three times.” He said it confidently, but a yawn interrupted him and betrayed more honest feelings. Sara chuckled and pat his arm, taking the keys from his hand.

“I’ll drive, you get some sleep.”

“I won’t argue.” He yawned again, slipping into the passenger side, “Thanks sisi.”

The two talked for a short time, but Scott quickly fell asleep against the window, so Sara drove with only their onboard navigation as a backdrop. It was a couple hour drive, and aside from passing a few cities the landscape was dark, without much to hold her attention, so she thought about the future and she wondered.

Eventually they reached another Initiative facility, off away from a small town. Sara wondered how they afforded all of these off-site locations, but she wasn’t about to punch a gift horse in the mouth. She woke Scott as they were cleared to enter, and soon they were being shown to a temporary apartment.

The twins had opted to stay together while they waited to board the Hyperion. It was easier that way, and they’d both missed each other’s companionship over the years. A single mattress was joined by a second across the room, but for the first night it was entirely ignored— the twins passed out on one bed as soon as they arrived, not even bothering to change, sleeping off their planetary transits together.

It took them a collective ten hours to finally rouse, and they set about unpacking a few necessities and having breakfast. Soon Sara was in the kitchen making tea for them, humming along to a faint radio on the coffee table and gently bouncing on her toes.

“I hear the Tempest is the top of its class.” Scott’s voice rose above the music, although it retained its softness, “Dad told me Nexus leaders were impressed.”

“We poured our hearts into it. So far as I’m concerned it deserves every commendation in the world.”

Scott watched her bounce around the kitchen for a few moments, brows raised in consideration. “You seem happy.” He commented, not unkindly, merely curious.

“Am I not allowed to be happy?” She asked him anyway, knowing that’s not what he meant but curious about his thoughts.

Sara brought in their tea and set it on the coffee table, sitting down beside her brother. He shrugged his shoulders lightly, “Just wondering,” He said, “that’s not an _I’m-Generally-In-A-Good-Mood_ kind of happy, that looks more like _Something-Amazing-Happened-And-I’m-In-A-High_ kind of happy.”

“Is it so bad,” She shoved him lightly, “to have good things happen in your life?”

“Ah-hah!” He exclaimed, as if he’d just figured out the murderer’s secret identity, pointing his fingers at her dramatically, “Something did happen! What was it? I require immediate details!”

She smirked at him, “I don’t kiss and tell.” 

That stopped Scott in his tracks, his face falling open with shock, “Wait.” He stared at her, her smirk growing wider by the moment, “Kiss? Kiss and tell?!”

Sara leaned in close to him, “And dad,” she crooned, “will never believe you.”

“Fuck!” He shouted, once again dramatic for her amusement, which worked like a charm. She snorted as he groaned, falling back against the couch in true Shakespearean fashion. “You evil, evil genius you.”

“Why thank you.” She sipped her tea, feeling very pleased with herself, “Such high praise.”

Scott straightened himself and took the other cup of tea, looking at it quizzically for a moment before taking a sip. Then his eyes widened, “Holy hell, this is good.” He gasped, taking a full gulp of her brew. She preened under her brother’s praise.

“Kallo taught me.” She told him proudly, “I can do all kinds of teas now. This blend is a Sur’Kesh original, it’s his favorite but he still gave me some.”

Scott shifted enough on the couch to face her, one leg bent beneath him as he leaned back against the armrest. The look on his face could only be described as cheeky. “So…” He smirked, “I assume this ‘kiss and tell’ involves Kallo? Whom, may I remind you, I have yet to meet.”

“Well…” She hummed, “It wasn’t anything explicit, but we… we said some things. Before separating.”

“Oh my god, you’re such a romantic.”

“Am not.” She muttered indignantly.

“You can’t fool me.” Scott laughed, but he wouldn’t dare laugh at her. He would tease her, but never laugh at her, not about something so serious. “So you’re an item now?”

Sara shrugged lightly, “We’re going to talk about it once we’re there. No rush, no expectations.”

Scott grinned, “Thank goodness, I still have time to instill the fear of god into him.”

“Really now,” She gave him a _Look_ which he knew _exactly_ how to interpret, “He doesn’t scare easy. This is a fight you can’t win.”

“Watch me.” And they shook on it, for no other reason than to piss each other off, and they loved it. “Missed you.” Scott told her with glee, draining the rest of his tea and wordlessly refilling it. He refilled her cup too without needing to ask.

“Missed you too.” She replied, and all was right with the world.

—

Alec arrived at the facility the following day. Though he was staying on Ark Hyperion he was training his Pathfinder team on Earth until their departure. He came to visit the twin’s apartment, sitting down with them in person for the first time in years. Amazingly, he loved Sara’s tea as much as Scott had.

“We’ll start training in the morning,” Alec explained, he and Scott seated at the kitchen table, “make sure everyone’s prepared for their roles. You two ready for this?”

“I think so.” Scott replied, “It’s… a big jump.”

Sara was lounging in the armchair, legs draped over an arm rest, “Ever since Jien gave me my ticket I’ve been studying the Initiative fleet. I know those ships forwards, backwards and upside down. Figure that’s about as prepared as anyone can be.”

Scott raised an eyebrow at her, “Anyone ever tell you to take breaks?”

“It wasn't hard, just reading.”

“All part of training.” Alec hummed, refilling his cup which bought Sara an immense amount of pride, “Speaking of which… you should join us, Sara. For training.”

She waved him off instantly, “Me? Holding a gun? Funny.”

“I’m serious.” And he was, she could tell from the tone of his voice. It made her tense up, just a little, purely on instinct. Scott too was not unaffected. “There could be any number of surprises out there. It’s possible we’ll need an Engineer on hand in the case of shuttle malfunction, communications breakdown, anything really.”

“For once…” Scott coughed nervously, “I agree with dad. Been a long time since you’ve practiced anything to do with shooting. We were what, fifteen last time? Hang around for training, get to know the crew, refresh your skills. Better to know it and not need it than need it and not know it.”

Sara wouldn’t have done it if Alec had pressed. But it was Scott that pressed, even just the slightest bit, and… well, she had a hard time denying Scott anything, especially when he put on his ‘kicked puppy’ expression. She didn’t have it in her to fight that.

“Fine.” She sighed, simply for show, “Just not with the rest. Don’t let me get in the way of your real training.”

“Done.” Alec agreed, as good as his word, no handshake necessary.

Scott flipped through some Initiative data, information on the potential habitable planets that existed in the Heleus cluster. “What are we most likely to find out there?” He wondered aloud. Scott wasn’t really expecting an answer, but Alec answered anyway, as he always did.

“Any number of possibilities, so we’ll have to be prepared for anything, especially for the worst case scenario; hostile contact.”

“What about peaceful contact?” Scott pushed, unamused.

“There’s protocol for that. No use of deadly force unless there is a direct and obvious threat to you or your team.”

“Think it’ll happen?”

Alec shrugged, “Who knows. I hope not.”

“What about primitive life?” Sara piped up, “We can’t just take over their home, if there is life there.”

“There’s protocol for that, too.” Alec reassured her, “We’ll leave them alone and let them develop naturally. Don’t worry, we have every potential circumstance covered.”

“Yeah,” Sara scoffed, “because no galactic civilization has broken _that_ protocol in the past.”

Alec shot her a withering stare, but said nothing to contradict her.

“Any signs of intelligent life at all?” Scott asked, glancing over at Sara when she made a small noise of pain, yet still remaining focused on his conversation. Sara was slumping down further in the chair and stretching out her aching back, hearing a few satisfying pops. 

“We’ve surveyed the Heleus cluster as much as we can from here. We haven’t picked up any evidence of intelligent life but we’re working with a time lag here.”

“A 2.5 Million year time lag.” Sara pointed out, “We can’t project anything off that kind of difference.”

“That was my first concern, but we got a break. The Quarians discovered a Geth array in the Perseus Veil. They found that it had been built from three Mass Relays, and by using sensors in the combined relay corridor the Geth had turned the array into an FTL telescope, trying to observe the dark space around our galaxy. The Initiative turned it to Andromeda, giving us a much clearer picture of the Heleus Cluster.”

Confused and alarmed, Sara stiffened and sat herself back up. The movement didn’t help her back, but she wasn’t focused on that after the mention of Geth. “Why would Geth be observing dark space?” She asked.

“No idea, but it worked out for us.” Alec didn’t seem as concerned about it as Sara thought he ought to be, but she didn’t press. He had the information, not her. “Regardless of how accurate it all is that’s what the Pathfinder team is for, finding out the answers to those questions.”

“And…” She shifted, uncomfortable, “The Geth aren’t a problem?”

Alec looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile, one of those smiles that showed his fierce protectiveness, and she relaxed. “Not at all. Promise.” And that didn’t fully settle her, but… there were no Geth on Earth. “0800 hours,” He ordered, “don’t be late.”

—

Scott and Sara were on their way to the training grounds on a warm Sunday morning. Scott was decked out in his shiny new Initiative armor, black with green accents by his choice. Sara wasn’t in armor, but did wear her leather jacket and a workout tank top. Scott was rolling his shoulders, settling into the new armor, happy to break it in before reaching Andromeda. Several guns were strapped to his back— he had made a point to show each one to Sara, and explain what they were, instead of just pulling them out without warning. She greatly appreciated his thoughtfulness.

They met their father as they entered the yard. There were many people training there, those intended to work as Hyperion security personnel. Off to one side Sara could see a person training a group at the shooting range. Others were working out, or sparring with one another in hand to hand combat. A smaller group with armor like Scott’s were waiting toward the middle of the courtyard— Alec waved his kids forward, and they followed him into the center.

“Scott, I’m going to assign you as our Recon Specialist.” Alec said as he strode forward proudly, “You’ve got an observant eye, I think you’ll be a good fit for the role. Shouldn’t take you long to learn the ins and outs.”

“Works for me.”

As they approached the small group, a woman in blue and white armor stepped forward with a datapad in hand. She had light blonde hair, an undercut which was swept to the side of her head. She was thin and fairly short, but Sara could see she was toned and radiated authority.

“Good morning, Pathfinder.” She greeted as Alec stopped in front of her. She handed the datapad over dutifully.

“Thanks.” Alec turned to address all three of them at once, “This is Lieutenant Cora Harper, my Second in Command. Cora, I'd like you to meet Scott and Sara.” Cora smiled at them, holding out her hand for both of them to shake, but her smile was less a friendly greeting and more a polite professional necessity.

“Heard a lot about you two.” She said, nodding back to the group behind her, “C’mon, meet the crew.” 

Stepping forward, they were greeted by six individuals, five of them in armor. “We’re a small bunch, but we’ll be effective. That’s David Fisher, Lucas Greer, Carmine Hayes, Dusty Kirkland and Liam Kosta, along with our medic Dr Harry Carlyle.”

Fisher was a thinner man of with deep brown eyes and a firm stature, bald with a stubble of a beard. Greer and Kosta were both of darker complexion; Greer was the taller and more powerfully built with very short hair, while Kosta was shorter without lacking in his own training regimen and wild curls sticking out all over his head. Hayes had fire red hair and a wildness to her eyes, the shortest of the bunch but with enough spark to outshine them all. Kirkland had many scars on his face, a short mohawk slicked back on his head, but he had this lopsided grin that betrayed a more laid-back personality. Dr Carlyle was older, perhaps in his fifties, with the gentleness of experience reflected in his eyes. They all went through their own friendly greetings, handshakes plentiful and smiles bright.

Liam stepped forward to greet Sara, his hand outstretched for her to take. “You’re Sara?” He asked with a kind grin, “Heard a lot about you. Super smart, right?”

Sara sighed, preparing herself for the usual spiel, “That the only thing you heard about me?” She asked him, shaking his hand politely. He laughed heartily, almost like he’d been expecting such a reaction.

“Only thing anyone says about you here.” He assured her without being obvious about it.

“Eh, that works.” With a squeeze of her hand, Liam moved to greet Scott without saying another word on the subject, and Sara immediately liked him.

Dr Carlyle was quick to take his place, shaking Sara’s hand. “Good to finally meet you, Ms Ryder.” He said.

“And you, Doctor.”

“Please, just call me Harry.” He gripped her hand and pat her shoulder with his free hand, “Come, lets talk.” Harry led her away from the group without any of them noticing— mainly because Scott had shifted, ever so slightly, so that their backs were turned away from Sara and Harry, keeping their attention with good-natured small talk. God, she appreciated him so much.

“Alec sent me your medical file and asked me to keep quiet.” Harry explained quietly, leaning in so their voices wouldn’t travel, “He's a good friend, we go back a long time, I'm happy to keep your condition under wraps. I’ll be your doctor both here and in Andromeda, so come see me every other week while we’re here and once we’re in Andromeda we’ll decide on a schedule depending on the situation we go into.”

“Sure.” She agreed, “And my medications?”

“I’ll get them for you, just ask when you’re running low.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

“Alright, lets get started!” Alec’s voice boomed out, and the Pathfinder crew’s training began.

Cora, of course, didn’t need training. She was obviously a military woman, knew her way through the training like clockwork. So while Alec worked with his crew Cora led Sara over to the shooting range, where she began setting up holographic targets for Sara to practice with. A pistol was waiting for use.

Beside her a group of recruits were learning to shoot. A person walked back and forth, marching with authority, helping out whenever a student got stuck somewhere.

“Okay, switch to rifles!” They commanded with a raised voice, “I want a count of your thermal clips, and the average time it takes you to go through them! Remember, quality over quantity— pick your targets and stick with them!”

“Yes ma’am!” The recruits called back, doing as they were told. Sara allowed them their time to train, turning back to Cora.

“Thanks.” Sara offered her, watching her set up the range.

“No problem.” Cora checked over the pistol, ensuring it was in working order, “Your father talks about you and Scott all the time. He was very glad you two were along for the ride.”

“He hasn’t said it in so many words but we got the idea.”

“Has he gotten you two your implants yet?”

Sara’s head snapped to face Cora so fast she nearly got whiplash. Cora didn’t notice, fiddling with part of the pistol with a furrowed expression. “Implants?” She asked, a little strangled.

That made Cora look up at her, confused and a little concerned, “He hasn't told you? The Pathfinder team gets implants.” She tapped the right side of her head, near her temple, “It’s a direct link to SAM node, and each other in an emergency situation.”

“Huh.” Sara turned a glare in Alec’s direction, which did not lessen Cora’s confusion. “He never mentioned that.”

“That’s a problem?”

Sara sighed and let the tension melt out of her. No use being upset about it, not at the moment, “I’ve never had great experiences with AI. Luckily for you guys I’ll never be part of a ground team, have your fun with the guns.”

Cora looked between her and the gun she was preparing for Sara’s use, “And yet you’re here practicing.”

“Scott insisted.”

“I see.” Cora handed her the pistol and a pair of safety glasses, “The range is ready. Glasses on at all times. I’ll be with the others if you need anything.”

“Will do, thanks.”

Cora left her to train, to practice what her father had taught her so many years before. Sara took a moment to settle her hands, pushing Alec from her mind to focus on her task. With her shoulders set in determination, she put on the goggles and began to practice. A lot of time passed as she did, as she allowed her mind to zero in on her task and block out everything else. The sun beat down and the day grew warmer, but Sara had grown so used to the climate of Sur’Kesh that the heat was almost a little too cool for her. But she blocked that out too and practiced on targets both stationary and moving.

After a while, her gun stopped firing. It made strange clicking noises, and her thermal clip wouldn’t discharge. She tried to fix it but didn’t know how, had never experienced this before, and had half a mind to track Cora down to ask her what to do.

“Your gun’s jammed.” A new voice spoke from her left. Sara was startled by the voice, turning from her gun to the origin of the voice. The voice led to a person, the one who had been training the recruits at the shooting range. They were quite tall, taller than Sara was, somewhere in their early forties. Their hair at the sides was buzz cut and jet black, while at the top of their head the hair was longer and dyed to be a bright flamboyant pink, styled back out of their eyes.

“Jammed?” Sara asked as they approached. When prompted, Sara handed the pistol to them for inspection.

“Yeah. Your last thermal clip didn’t discharge.” They explained. They turned the pistol away from Sara and hit the side of the thermal chamber a few times with the heel of their palm. After a final hard hit the thermal clip popped out and onto the ground, smoking and far too hot to touch for a while. “There you go.” They reloaded the pistol for Sara before handing it back, “Keeping track of how many clips you’ve used is a general rule of thumb.”

“Thank you.” Sara smiled, looking at the spot the person had hit again and again, seeing the scuff marks left behind, “I’ve a lot to learn.”

“We all start somewhere.” They assured her with a patient smile, pulling out some extra thermal clips and placing them in Sara’s reach.

“Lieutenant?” One of the trainees got their attention, “Our range shut down.” 

“Okay.” They shot a parting smile at Sara, “Keep at it.” They encouraged before leaving to help their trainees. Something about the way they said it, or perhaps the smile, emboldened Sara, so she rolled her shoulders and started again, gradually improving her aim as the hours passed by.

That evening, after Alec had dismissed the rest of his crew and the training grounds were empty, Alec spent some time training Sara. They were practicing her hand to hand combat, Sara with boxing gloves while Alec held boxing mitts for her to punch. He blocked a particularly hard punch, which made him grunt. “Good.” He said, adjusting his stance, “Again.” Sara did as asked, but Alec didn’t grunt this time. “You’re distracted. Again.”

“You’re damn right I’m distracted.” Punch, block, punch, “Why didn’t you tell me about the implant?”

“I was going to.” He swung at her, and she ducked out of the way, “It just never seemed like a good time.”

Sara punched, making him dodge her entirely, “You made SAM to cure mom, not for some crazy Initiative.”

She punched again, and physically pushed him back with the force of it, “Things change. SAM can do so much good, I know he can.”

“Does Scott know?”

“He agreed to the implant, actually.” Punch, block, dodge, punch, “Scott saw the benefit. I asked him to let me discuss it with you myself.”

“I see. You thought it would freak me out, so you wanted to tell me privately.”

“Yes.”

Sara scowled, thoroughly frustrated. It was so— so _him_ , and it _hurt_. She went for a knockout punch, right under his jaw, but Alec saw through her. He grabbed her arm and swiped her legs out from under her, taking her right to the ground and pinning her there in the dirt, completely restrained.

“If you're going for a knockout, you better be focused. I know you can do a hell of a lot better than _that_.” He released her and stood up with a huff, “You’re done.”

Sara groaned and got herself up, brushing herself off and unwrapping her hands. She kept her back to Alec long enough to stretch out her arms, formulating what she wanted to say next, and how she was going to say it.

“You want me to have the implant so you can try to cure me.” She settled on the obvious, because that seemed the easiest place to start, “The same way you thought it could cure mom.”

Alec slowly peeled off the boxing mitts, buying himself time to think. “We bolstered your mother's immune system, imagine what else we could do. SAM could bolster human physiology using an implant. He could counteract diseases, and—”

“And it didn’t work.” She ground out impatiently, “Mom’s dead.” She stood then and faced her father, the only thing she could do with any degree of certainty— facing him had never challenged her. “We’re human. We die.”

“It—” He licked his lips nervously, clearing his throat, gathering his words. There were times when Sara felt intimidated by her father’s shadow, something she felt she could never match; and there were times when Alec felt intimidated by his daughter, who was far too much like him to know what do to with. “It didn’t work for your mother, but with a little more time to develop SAM it could work for you. We won’t know until we—”

“Dad.” She stopped him, she had to. She moved closer to him, close enough to really look him in the eye, to feel the anxiety he hid from everyone else in existence. But he couldn’t hide from her. He never could. “Stop it. You’ve done this my whole life.” And she felt such pity for him, had always seen it in his eyes, the desperate fear of being alone. Of losing the people he loved most, even if showing that love was hard. The fear that, for all his strength and intellect, he wouldn’t be good enough to save his own family. And Sara… well, she wasn’t in a position to demand salvation. She’d never expected it, never asked for it, and somehow Alec had taken that as a personal challenge. A torch she’d never wanted him to bare. “SAM can’t save me. _You_ can’t save me, you don’t _need_ to save me. You need to accept that.”

“We can change genetics.” Alec argued, “We were well on our way when you were young, if we just keep trying we can--”

“Don’t you remember how much pain I was in?” Sara snapped right back, “When I was little and didn’t understand what was happening to me, when you and mom let all those scientists try to find a cure? When they tried to alter my genetics over and over again, and all it did was make me hurt more until it almost killed me? Because I _remember it_ , and I still have to _deal with it_. I’m sure someday they will find a cure, but I am not interested in spending the little time I have being a test subject for a thousand different modifications that may or may not work. I never wanted that kind of false hope. Please don’t make me carry it.”

“I can’t…” He whispered, gripping her shoulder tightly, “I can’t just let you go like that.”

But Sara merely shook her head, “I’m happy, dad. I’m happy right here, right now, _as I am_. Why can’t you just enjoy these years with me instead of spending all your energy trying to prevent the inevitable?”

Alec shook his head and released her shoulder, walking away from her and running his fingers haphazardly through his hair. Sara gave him the time to calm himself down, knowing that this was a battle she would likely be fighting with him for many years to come. She knew exactly where her own stubbornness had come from. He paced for a short time as Sara put the gloves and supplies away, bagging everything up, taking her time until her father was ready. Finally she heard him sigh, and turned back around to hear what he was going to say next.

“The implant would benefit you in Andromeda.” He told her— they were done talking about her mortality, and Sara was fine with that. “SAM would be able to monitor you through stasis and potentially keep your symptoms stable while you’re asleep, just in case something happens. We don’t know what stasis will do to you. In Andromeda you would be able to communicate with him directly, he could help with your work. If you’re needed planet-side at any point you’ll be much safer with his oversight.”

“You must have forgotten that I watched AI killing people in cold blood. Who’s to say that SAM won't—”

“I didn’t forget.” He assured her, “SAM is different. He draws directly from human experience; killing you would kill part of himself. He wouldn’t consider it, I promise you that much. And if something goes wrong, you can choose to remove the implant once we’re settled in Andromeda.”

It was an uncomfortable feeling, to know she was playing right into her father’s wishes while also knowing he was correct on one front: They did not know what stasis would do to her. They had no idea if stasis would hurt her, and Sara had someone she wanted to wake up to. And that… the idea of not waking up in Andromeda, after all that had happened, was unbearable.

“I…” She swallowed hard, “No one can promise that I’ll wake up.”

“No.” Alec nodded, coming closer, “SAM gives you a better chance.”

She looked up into his eyes for a moment. She was doing what he wanted, something she actively tried to avoid when she could, but she wasn’t daft either. Her father did have the knowledge and experience that she lacked, and that could not be ignored. The confidence in his eyes was unmistakable, something he couldn’t have faked or masked even if he tried. She knew him too well for that.

“I need you to give me a guarantee that I can remove it once we’re in Andromeda. I’m not a test subject. Let me make that choice.”

“You have my word. He won’t do anything you don’t want him to do.” His word, which despite his many missteps in their lives, he had never broken.

“Yeah.” She nodded shakily, “I understand.” With a deep breath she squared her shoulders, “Alright. I can see the benefits.”

Alec blinked a couple times, watching her quizzically for a moment. “You're taking this much better than I thought you would.” He told her with true surprise in his voice, which she hadn’t entirely expected.

“I’m not a child anymore.” She said, raising her brow at him, a look he’d seen many times before, “I can think logically.”

“Right. Of course.” He squeezed her shoulder again, softer this time, less desperate for an anchor, and he smiled. “This will be a great new start for all of us, you'll see.”

Sara nodded again and stepped out of his grasp, almost missing the flash of sadness in his eyes, “Yeah.” She muttered, picking up her bag, “I know.”

And that was that.

—

Sara had messaged Kallo not ten minutes before he called her directly. She answered on the third ring, curled up in an outer hallway overlooking the fields beyond. It was pitch black, even the hallway was darkened by heavy shadows, but the cool night air went a long way toward calming her anger and her fear.

“Sara?” Kallo asked when she had not talked upon answering, “I got your message, I’m here. What’s wrong?” He sounded so concerned for her, and she missed him terribly.

“I…” And damn it, her voice trembled despite her best efforts to keep it steady. She cleared her throat, but that didn’t help, and Kallo let out a soft, comforting hum on his end of the line.

“Take a breath.” He encouraged her, “It’s just us. It’s—”

“I miss you.” 

She blurted it out without thinking; somehow it was the easiest thing for her to say, and she couldn’t hold it back, not for a single second more. Kallo was silent on the other end for many long, terrifying moments, and Sara began to worry that she had overstepped some kind of boundary. That maybe everything they had said and done and felt was—

“I miss you too.” He replied in that _way_ of his, his special way of packing words with so much passion it was as if the words themselves could barely contain it. Emotion spilling over, drowning out everything else, washing over every fear and worry and sadness and replacing it with pure love. 

It was what he was best at. At that moment, it was exactly what she needed, and she let out more trembling breaths and a few tears, curling in on herself and for a moment thinking it a rather pathetic sight.

“There you are.” Kallo muttered soothingly over the line, and suddenly she didn’t feel pathetic at all. “You know, if you just let yourself feel things you wouldn’t have so much trouble talking about them.” He told her with that teasing tone of voice, gently coaxing out of her spiraling anxieties. 

“You know I’m better at hitting things.” She sputtered, sniffling and swiping at her eyes.

“We both know that’s a lie.” He retorted, because he knew her best. “Come on now, what’s gotten you so upset? It’s a difficult feat, to be sure.”

From the moment it had happened she’d wanted to tell Kallo. She knew she could, and that was enough. Finally, she managed the words, “Dad talked me into a SAM implant.”

“A SAM implant…” He muttered, sounding confused, “I don't understand Sara, SAM's—”

“He's putting an implant into my skull to connect me directly to SAM.” 

Kallo was quiet for a moment, stunned by the news. “…And you agreed to that?” Sara groaned and shoved her head into her arms, folded atop her knees, clutching her Tool in a tight fist. “Sorry, sorry.” He rushed, “You’ve just caught me off guard. What will that do for you?”

She raised her head back up, “Dad says SAM can monitor my symptoms while I’m in stasis, make sure everything stays… I don’t know, normal I guess. I don’t really understand these implants, it’s not my area of study. Organic physiology... ugh. Machines are easier.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Kallo asked her, trying to sound hopeful, “If he can help you in stasis then that’s good.”

“I don’t think SAM can help me, but… he said I could remove it so… so…”

“If you believed that you wouldn’t be freaking out right now.”

Sara laughed humorlessly, “This is freaking out?”

“What else would it be?”

Sara gave herself a moment to quell the trembling in her hands, slowly wiping her cheeks and taking deep breaths. Her thoughts flew everywhere. Her thoughts were an even worse whirlwind than usual.

“It's been two years. I didn’t think AI would still be trigger, that’s all.”

Kallo hummed, a quiet noise that reverberated within her own mind, like he was right there next to her. “Are you kidding? Two years later and flashing red lights are still a trigger to me.”

“Really?” She asked him— he’d never mentioned that.

“Really.”

“You should have said something, we could have—”

She could imagine him waving her off, “It wasn't an issue for me until we left Sur'Kesh. Out here it just feels more real. Maybe that’s why you’re having trouble, too.”

Her thoughts turned to Kallo sitting on the bridge of the Tempest, testing their flashing emergency lights— flashing red lights. “We’ll have to change the Tempest’s warning lights. Maybe an orange instead.”

“Something to deal with in Andromeda.” He sounded calm enough, so she dropped it. She was too tired to do anything else. “Listen, if you can really get the implant removed later then maybe, just this once, having a little faith is worth a try.”

He knew her best, sure, but there were some things he never really understood fully. Her relationship with her father was one she doubted he would ever fully understand, and that was okay. “Maybe tell me that when we get there.”

“Course.” Kallo got the loud hint to drop it and he did, no questions asked. She _adored_ him. “Is the Hyperion launching anytime soon?”

“We haven’t gotten notice yet. Nexus?”

“We’ll be leaving in a few days. They’re doing final checks and putting the first wave into stasis as we speak.”

That hit hard— soon they wouldn’t even be able to call each other. No messages, nothing. He’d be asleep, and she’d be left waiting for her turn. “So soon…”

“I'm sure the Hyperion will be quick to follow, we'll be there before you know it.”

“Yeah.” Movement to her left caught Sara’s eye, and she turned her head to meet the eyes of her brother standing at the end of the hall watching her. He had that sympathetic smile on his face that served very well at calming her, and upon meeting her eye he approached without a word. “Scott just showed up, so…”

“Did he?”

Scott knelt down in front of Sara quietly, looking her over for a moment before turning his attention to her call. “Are you the famous Kallo Jath?”

“As much as you’re the famous Scott Ryder.” The two of them shared a chuckle, and Sara noted the nod of approval that Scott threw in her direction.

“Sara speaks of little else. I'll take over, we'll meet in Andromeda, sound good?”

“Looking forward to it.” Kallo said, hesitating a moment before adding, “You get some rest, okay Sara?”

“Okay.” She replied for his sake, “Night Kal.”

“Goodnight.”

As Kallo hung up Sara dropped her Tool, replacing it with her brother’s hand in an instant. Scott didn’t mind as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb soothingly.

“Dad told you.” It wasn’t a question, it never would be.

“More like I forced it out of him.” Scott admitted with a tiny, nervous chuckle, “You going to yell at me?”

“No. I don't have the energy for yelling.”

Scott sighed and pulled on her arm, getting her to stand from the cold ground. He brushed his hands over her sleeves, smoothing down the rumpled fabric, trying to soothe her. “Well, if I may say so, I’d rather have some kind of safety net in place instead of falling without my sister at my side.” That got a smile out of her, but it didn’t last. Scott held her hand, and he waited.

“Do me a favor?” She finally asked him.

“Anything.” He swore.

“Make sure dad actually has me woken up once we get there. I wouldn’t want him to keep me in stasis while he upgrades SAM.”

Scott’s eyes widened in true shock at her prediction, “You think he’d do that?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” She sighed, “It’s a long jump though. Maybe six hundred years can change us all.”


	11. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She had heard more in that warehouse than Alec could have imagined, and the thought turned his veins to ice. “You’re our Pathfinder, you’ve ingrained SAM into the Initiative, Jien’s your friend, there’s absolutely no way you’re not involved in whatever the hell is going on. Tell me what you’re running from. Tell me what these “Reapers” are.”
> 
> Sara hadn’t raised her voice, as she usually would, but she also didn’t need to. The harshness and severity in her voice was enough, and yet Alec still could not answer her.
> 
> \--
> 
> Sara becomes involved in uncovering a plot to sabotage the Initiative. In the process she learns of a threat which will call everything she thought she knew about the Initiative into question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long! These past two months have been very busy, and I needed a break from writing. Here's a longer chapter to make up for it! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

It had been eight months since the Nexus had left the Milky Way. Eight months of waiting for the call to board the Hyperion. Eight months sitting on Earth, twiddling their thumbs day after day, only for nothing to happen.

It was maddening.

Sara sat in the outdoor section of the cafeteria, waiting for Scott who’d insisted on getting their lunch. She twirled her braids around her hand while she waited, careful not to undo Scott’s careful work on her new cornrows. Her body was hurting something fierce today, and she rolled her shoulders every now and then trying to get the pins and needles to fuck off. In the background the news was playing, and many people were paying attention— enough so that Sara perked up to listen.

“Over three hundred thousand Batarian lives were lost after the Mass Relay of the Bahak system was destroyed by an unknown force. While the details are shrouded in mystery, it’s rumored that Commander Shepard played a role in this devastating incident.”

Commander Shepard? Sara’s eyes widened; she remembered watching the news footage of the Commander’s death years earlier.

“Shepard was an N7 Marine and Citadel Spectre before being listed as missing in action over two years ago; the Commander reappeared only a few months ago with no apparent reason for their disappearance. Recently, Shepard arrived on Earth and surrendered peacefully to the Alliance Military. They have been placed under house arrest pending a Court Martial for unknown charges. This incident has sparked fears of war between the Batarians and Humanity as the world awaits further details.”

It was a strange story, with many gaps that had no fill and questions that had no answers. It was history in the making and sadly, Sara didn’t have much mind to spare towards something so far away. She felt sympathy towards those Batarians, but she didn’t have enough information, and the Initiative was keeping her very busy.

She would watch the developments, should they occur, and quietly wonder.

“Sara Ryder?”

Sara was pulled from her thoughts by a voice. It was higher pitched and a little rough, but kind, and it was a voice Sara faintly recognized. She turned to find the source and was met by a person, feminine in appearance and in their early forties. They wore a white cowboy hat and a plaid shirt, tied at the front to show some midriff, with jeans and cowboy boots. They looked very much like Texas had up and walked over to Florida for a chat. And they looked very familiar.

“Yes?” She asked, because she couldn’t quite place the name of this person yet.

“I’m Lieutenant Traya Hartman, Hyperion security.” They introduced themselves, reaching over to shake Sara’s hand. That finally clicked in her brain, and she realized where she saw this person all the time.

“Oh!” She grinned, “You helped me fix my gun. You’ve been training the Hyperion security recruits, right?”

“That’s me.” They replied with a joyful smile. They had a heavy accent straight out of Texas, that southern twang that was unmistakable. It was almost like watching a stereotypical old-time movie. “D’you mind?”

“Not at all.” Traya sat down across the table from Sara and folded their hands, “I didn’t realize you lived here full time.”

“Just for now,” They responded politely, “until our recruits have gotten through their preliminary training. I take 'em from here to the Moon for active environmental drills.”

“But not today?”

“I’m on— alternate duties today.” Traya explained, almost managing to cover the slip in their sentence, but not quite, “I was actually hoping you could answer a few questions for me?”

“Of course, how can I help?”

Traya pulled out a datapad where they could take notes, “The Hyperion’s been having some technical difficulties. You’ve been working closely with the engineers, have y'seen anything unusual or suspicious in your department?”

Sara hummed and thought on it, “Not that I can think of. We’ve been delayed but the reasons for it are way above my pay rate. That said… some of our engineers have been grumbling about not having some equipment they’ve needed. Shipments keep getting diverted, we assumed it was ordered by the Captain.”

“I see.”

Traya typed some notes, and Sara spent a minute studying them. Their tenseness, their concern— they weren’t hiding it very well.

“What kind of technical difficulties are we talking about here?” She asked. Traya glanced up, studying her for a moment in turn.

“Nothing serious, just gettin' things checked out.”

“If it wasn’t serious you wouldn’t be asking.” Sara rested her forearms on the table and leaned forward a little, “What _exactly_ are you looking for?”

Traya mirrored her, leaning forward and narrowing their eyes just slightly. The conversation had shifted on a dime. “Where were you last Friday, Ms Ryder?” This wasn’t a case of casual questioning to gather some background information, this was an interrogation; and apparently Sara was somehow a suspect.

“Friday…” She thought back to the last week to recall accurately, “I had breakfast with my brother, then I took a shuttle up to the Hyperion with my father. I spent most of the day inputting new calculations into the ODSY drive core, then I had my SAM implant calibrated before returning to this facility. I had dinner, then Scott and I met up with some of our engineers-- Tompkins, Edrika and Delora-- and we all went dancing. I got back to my apartment around two in the morning and went to bed.”

Traya wrote down the names she’d mentioned, “Those engineers work here full time?”

“Yeah.”

Traya nodded, “Pathfinder Alec Ryder's your father, ain't he? Has he mentioned anything odd?”

“Not at all. He's been tense but... hmm.”

“What’s that?”

Sara shook her head, “Well he’s always tense, but not nervous. Lately he’s been nervous. I could contact him, you can ask him—”

Traya held up their hand a little too quickly, “No, no thank you. I wouldn’t want to waste his time.”

That told Sara much of what she needed to know, and Traya knew it. She squinted at the Lieutenant, “So you’re investigating above board.”

“Not at all,” They countered, “just need to keep this quiet.” And Sara had no evidence or anything of the sort, so she had no choice but to let it go while she decided on her next move. She had no proof to call them on.

At that moment Scott returned with two trays of food, giving Traya a curious once-over. “Everything alright?” He asked, setting down the trays. Traya stood up immediately to give him room.

“Oh, yeah.” Sara didn’t bother to stand, a little too sore for that, “This is Lieutenant Hartman, they’re with Hyperion security.” The two of them shook hands, Traya completely professional and Scott slightly suspicious. “Go find Abagail Delora in engineering, she’s been here longer than I have. She might be able to answer more of your questions.” And, hopefully, she could tell Sara some useful things later.

“Thank you, Ms Ryder.” They tipped their hat to the twins, casual as anything, “You two enjoy your day now.”

Scott watched them walk away before taking his seat across from his sister, “What was that about?”

“I’m not sure…” Sara shook her head and grabbed her utensils, “Oh well.” Scott watched her for a moment before dropping the subject; she wondered how long he’d been watching from afar. If he’d picked up on Sara’s body language, he didn’t comment on it. “So, are you guys training today?”

“Tomorrow. Dad’s been held up on the Hyperion, something about technical problems.” He speared his fork through some noodles, wrapping them up, “Why do you think we’re being so delayed?”

“I have no idea. So far as I can tell we’re good to go, but I’m only really involved with the Drive Core itself. It must have something to do higher up the system, maybe navigation or sensor based.”

Scott growled a little as he chewed, an excuse to think through his response. “Bit unsettling.” He admitted finally, and Sara knew that was about as much as she was going to get out of him. That was fine— he’d said enough.

“Lets go dancing tonight, once the pain meds kick in.” Sara said instead, “No reason for us to stress about it right now. Lets go have some fun.” Scott watched her for a moment, gaging something on her face. It was a constant for him, like a safety net to read his sister in a way no one else could. It was easy for him to compartmentalize his own anxieties based off of Sara’s reactions; not that she encouraged it, mind, but she also knew that if she was calm, he would be too. For now, until Scott found his own platform to stand on, she didn’t mind him sharing hers.

“Sure.” He agreed after a moment, “Maybe we can pull the Squad in as well before training tomorrow.”

“I think that’s a great idea.”

—

Sara hadn’t heard anything more of Lieutenant Hartman after a few days. Not even Abagail Delora had much information for her, as the Lieutenant hadn’t asked many questions. She was curious, but Sara also had a job to do which held her attention. Her father had let her in on some of the Hyperion’s repairs, so she ran numbers from the ground to send back to him, plans to hopefully produce better results on the Hyperion.

Abagail stood from her desk with a sigh, stretching to pop her back into place after sitting for so long. It was late, and both girls had pulled a few extra hours for lack of anything else to do. Abby seemed to have had enough for one night. “G’night Sara.” She yawned as she grabbed her bag.

“See you tomorrow Abby.” Sara replied, not even glancing up from her work. She heard Abby leave the room, then there was silence for a few moments. It wasn’t more than three seconds before the door opened again, startling Sara as Abby sprinted back into the room and hid behind Sara’s desk.

“Sara!” She hissed, “Someone’s in the storage room, I saw a shadow.”

Sara lowered herself to the ground beside the terrified Abagail. No one but them should have been in the building, not at this hour. “Edrika?” She asked in concern, thinking she knew the answer.

“He left hours ago!” Abby confirmed Sara’s thoughts.

“Alright.”

Was she about to do something stupid? Probably. But calling security at this hour would more likely allow for the intruder’s escape— very few members of security were on duty, as if they had much security personnel here to begin with. So Sara stood up and tip-toed to the door, Abby following behind many steps back.

Sara heard some rustling from the storage room. In the hallway were some extra supplies being utilized in some remodeling happening in the office next door; among these items was some metal piping, which Sara grabbed as she carefully crept to the storage room. She could still hear the rustling when she reached the door, so with a deep breath she raised the pipe and charged into the room. At the same time someone Sara recognized whirled around, fists raised and encased in strong biotics to ward off her attack. Both of them stopped immediately, although quite close to hitting one another.

“Ms Hartman!” Sara gasped.

“Ms Ryder!” Traya responded with equal surprise. The two of them lowered their weapons with a sigh, shaking off the sudden adrenaline rush.

“Hawu…” Sara muttered under her breath at the scare, which caught Traya’s attention. 

“Sorry about that.” They said, trying to present as non-threatening of a posture as possible. As the adrenaline wore down Sara started to have thoughts revolving around why Traya was looking at their stored equipment.

“I’m sorry too, but you scared the crap out of us.”

“Yeah…” They shuffled a little, “I didn’t think anyone was here.”

And that did nothing to alleviate Sara’s questions and suspicions, “What are you doing here?” She asked, eyes narrowed. 

“Investigating.” They replied simply. Traya’s eye moved to something behind Sara— Abby, who was peeking through the doorway at the lack of pained screaming from either side. “Good evening, Ms Delora.”

“Oh.” She squeaked, “H-hello.” Abby very wisely stayed at the door and behind Sara, making herself as small as possible. Traya didn’t seem to care, instead turning their attention back to Sara in a professional manner.

“I was taking a look at these shipment tracking numbers, my superiors are interested in trackin' down some misidentified supplies.” They said it straight forward, clear and precise and authoritative. Something that would have sounded factual, had Sara not been related to a Pathfinder who made damn well sure his kids understood everything about the Initiative.

“I… see.” Sara turned around to face Abby and gave her a look, “Go on home,” She said with an inflection that turned it into a demand, “I’ll help the Lieutenant with the shipments.”

Abby got the message loud and clear: get out in case a witness was needed. Someone who could alert someone higher up on the ladder, should it be necessary. “Sure. Goodnight.”

Traya let Abagail go without a fight, which Sara noted. When she was sure Abby was gone she turned back to Traya and folded her arms, shifting her body just slightly— enough that she was stable and coiled, ready to spring should this interaction go sideways but not enough to make it obvious, just like Scott had taught her. “Alright.” She put on her best no-nonsense tone, “You got a warrant?”

Traya seemed put off by the question, “I don’t need a warrant, this building is Initiative property.”

“No, it’s not.” Sara snapped back, catching the Lieutenant in the lie, “This building is government property, loaned to the Initiative for temporary use. Any official investigations would be carried out by local authorities. This is not your jurisdiction, even if you’re running a true investigation up on the Hyperion. Just what the hell are you doing?” Traya hesitated, caught in their bluff with no backup plan, weighing their options. Sara pressed on, “Look, you can either tell me— a sympathetic party— or I can go to my father, a significantly less sympathetic party.” Something about the mention of her father made Traya flinch, which did not go unnoticed. But was it a flinch of fear? Sara wasn’t so sure. It didn’t look right.

“It’s a dangerous thing,” Traya finally said, “to confront a stranger alone in a storage closet in the middle of the night, especially when you are not the one with the weapon in this situation.” They gestured to the pistol on their belt, which Sara had already taken note of. The clip itself would buy her a half second of precious time. The way they said it, for all intents and purposes, should have sounded threatening but it wasn’t. Somehow it sounded… concerned. Motherly.

“I think I’d surprise you.” Sara bluffed— she was nervous, of course she was, but any hesitation to be found in Traya was an advantage for her. The more she could surprise the Lieutenant, the better odds she would have. Beyond that… “But something tells me you’re not going to use that gun. If you didn’t want any witnesses, you wouldn’t have let Abby go.”

“That’s fair.” Traya conceded, “I can see there’s no fooling you. I’m not supposed to be here.” They pulled out a datapad, slowly so as to not startle Sara, “Our tech on board the Hyperion has been goin' haywire— short circuits, sudden shut downs, reboots, information missing from our supposedly secure files. My brother began investigating and found that all of the consoles that were breaking down were newly repaired or newly installed, and when he traced the equipment used on those consoles he found inconsistencies in the shipments.” Traya showed the shipping numbers to Sara via the datapad, “He believes they were tampered with here on Earth. I took his suspicions to my superior, the head of Hyperion security, who told me to stop digging.”

“You were threatened?”

Traya nodded, forlorn, “He told me it ain't my concern, to keep my nose out of supply or my family would be on the next shuttle home.”

“Suspicious.” Sara muttered, reading the lines from the datapad.

“Nothin' to write home about, that’s for damn sure. Since I’m living down here anyway, I thought I could investigate on my brother’s behalf so he didn’t risk getting caught. This station is the last stop before the Hyperion, so the supplies must come through here.” Traya paused a moment, “Well, I thought so anyway.”

Sara handed the datapad back, “But you’re not sure?”

“I don’t think anyone within this facility is messing with our equipment.” They admitted, “There’s no inconsistencies in rosters or conflicting scheduling, everyone’s identities check out. I think it’s being sabotaged off-station before being shipped in, and we need to know who’s doing it. That’s why I’m looking at these shipments, to see where they came from. My brother up on the Hyperion checks the numbers when I send them his way. I’m just worried for my family, if I tell my superiors or our Pathfinder what’s happening… I can’t risk their livelihoods. Andromeda’s the only plan we got.”

They seemed sincere to Sara; furthermore, Traya hadn’t tried to scare Sara at any point. No threats, no attacks, not so much as an aggressive gesture. They had made the conscious effort to be as non-threatening as possible, which gave Sara enough confidence to let down her guard. Traya was no threat to her. She nodded firmly and turned abruptly, waving for Traya to follow her. “You’re looking in the wrong place.” She declared, leaving a befuddled Traya to catch up with her quick strides.

Sara brought Traya to a larger room, packed full of crates and miscellaneous supplies. “These are our most recent shipments.” She said, bringing Traya to a group of crates that had been delivered that morning.

“Notice anything unusual about them?” They asked, scanning the crates with their omni-tool.

Sara hummed, looking them over until something small caught her eye. “These shipments should be sealed, right?”

“Should be.”

“Then why are these seals cracked?”

Traya came over to look and saw what Sara had noticed, tiny cracks in the seal of the crate— someone had opened it, then attempted to replace the seal but had missed a spot. “Lets check these out.” Traya brought her forearm up to make a call, which was answered quickly. “Mikey?”

“I’m here.” A deeper male voice answered over their comms. He had an accent much like Traya’s.

“I need some numbers checked. Shipment 1-8-6-0-HCT and number 6-27-0-2-ZSR.”

“Alright, give me a minute.”

“Who’s that?” Sara asked curiously as they waited for the man to check the numbers.

“Oh, this is my older brother.” Traya replied, holding out their arm a little, “Say hi Michael.”

“Hello,” He greeted politely, “Ms…?”

“Ryder.”

“Damn, you got a Ryder involved?” He laughed, “We must be on to something.”

“I certainly hope so.”

“I got it.” Michael declared, “It looks like those shipments came from a third-party warehouse about fifty miles east of your location. It was shipped overseas… I can’t trace them beyond that warehouse.”

Sara scanned the crates herself, looking over the supplies she could see through her Tool. “Anything unusual?” Traya asked, coming to look over Sara’s shoulder.

“Nothing stands out, standard equipment.”

Sara hummed lightly, “Everything seems in place. Spark plugs, encoders, some wiring, conduits, lugs, standard plating… Doesn’t look like it’s been disturbed but looks can be deceiving.”

“Okay, I guess I’m headed east. Thanks Mikey.”

“Stay safe.”

Sara, now convinced that Traya was innocently investigating a potentially serious problem, turned all her focus to Traya, “Want help?” Traya startled at the question, eyes widening.

“Oh, heaven forbid!” They replied decisively, “You’re still a civilian, I’m uncomfortable involvin' you beyond this point. I’ll be okay.”

“Alright…” Sara muttered, most displeased and concerned, but she didn’t press the issue. “Well, you can contact me if you do need help. And if security footage from tonight just happens to disappear, maybe don’t mention my name?”

“Of course.” Traya shook her hand firmly, “Thank you Ms Ryder, you’ve helped me immeasurably.”

“Sara.” She insisted, as was custom.

“Sara. I’ll leave before I cause you undue trouble.”

“Fine with me. Good luck.”

—

“You did what?!”

To say Scott was furious that next morning was an understatement, but what else was Sara going to tell him? She’d been out much later than expected, and Abby wasn’t exactly tight-lipped. So she told him the truth, and he was seething in a way Sara hadn’t seen in a very long time. 

She certainly didn’t blame him. It was, in retrospect, a very stupid plan. But in for a penny, in for a pound. “She’s on to something,” She insisted, “I let her go.”

“And if she’s the one doing the tampering?”

“She’ll be on the security footage and I can name and identify her. Don’t worry so much.”

Scott sighed heavy and rubbed his brow furiously, “That was reckless.”

“Our security here is less than stellar, who else was going to deal with it?” Sara asked him petulantly.

“It was a stupid risk, knock it off.” He demanded. 

“I know it was a risk Scott, you think that didn’t come to mind? You tell me what else was I supposed to do.”

He practically launched himself out of his chair, “Do nothing! Get backup! Put more care into your safety!”

“No time for that.” Sara muttered, and Scott nearly collapsed from the force of his eyes rolling.

“You’re going to give me gray hairs, I swear.” 

Scott had started to pace to work off the nervous energy she’d given him, and it snapped Sara out of her strange feeling of righteousness. Truth be told, she didn’t exactly know what had gotten into her, and she wasn’t all that willing to think on it. Everything seemed a little… tilted since arriving back on Earth, since integrating fully with the Initiative. It was altogether new, to feel so out of balance.

“Hey.” She leaned a little to catch his eye, making him stop in his pacing, “Next time I need armed backup I'll call you, how's that?”

He huffed and turned away from her, “That's a start, I guess.” He grumbled, grabbing his backpack from the back of the chair he’d been seated in, “I have to go in for training. Don't wait up for me.”

If there was one thing Sara hated, it was seeing Scott so up in arms and not having it resolved. She hated upsetting him, even when it was necessary.

“Can I come watch?” She blurted out before he could leave, a little desperate. He stopped for a moment and glanced at her, tired and wary.

“Sure.” He replied, quickly moving to leave. Sara jumped up and followed him out— it was a start, at least.

—

Alec was back at the station training the Pathfinder team that day. Thankfully, Scott hadn’t told him about Sara’s negligence the night before, and Sara certainly wasn’t going to mention it. She sat a bit away from the training with Cora, the two lounging in the shade watching the team train. Well, Sara wasn’t watching at that moment— she was fiddling with Cora’s tool, repairing its broken scanner. She had to go into its base code and rewrite a few sections, but this was something she could do in her sleep.

Sara noted her father looking up to the sky every now and then, a strange look of apprehension on his face. She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that.

“Okay, I changed the code.” She handed the Tool back, “Your scanner should work now.” Cora put her Tool back on and tried the scanner, watching it activate and scan a nearby plant without any issue. 

“Thank you, it was driving me insane.”

“Anytime.” The two watched the crew for a little while, time passed in companionable silence. They had grown rather used to one another’s company over the many months on Earth, although Sara knew very little about Cora she likes the Lieutenant well enough. Sara also thought that, of any of them, Cora might have some details she lacked, and there was a chance that even if she told Alec about Sara’s questions, her father wouldn’t catch on. “Have you heard anything about the Hyperion being sabotaged?”

Cora looked at her with a mixture of confusion and slight alarm, “No, not at all. Why?”

She shrugged lightly to calm Cora, but it didn’t seem to work. It was almost as if… as if Cora was realizing something? “No reason.” Sara insisted, “Just some rumors flying around.”

Cora hummed, lost in thought as a few memories surfaced from the past few weeks, “I've heard some chatter that the other Arks have been having some problems.”

That got Sara’s attention, but she didn’t react outwardly beyond a twitch. She had no idea if Cora had caught it. “What kind of problems?”

“I don’t know, but it’s delaying our departure. I’ve assumed Alec knows and is taking care of it, he’s been extremely busy.”

“You didn’t ask?”

“No reason to.” She shrugged, “He’ll tell me if he needs me.”

Another puzzle piece falling into place, the realization that Cora saw her relationship with Alec from a militaristic standpoint, through and through. “I'm guessing you don't question him much.”

“Why would I? He’s our Pathfinder.”

“Even so—” Cora chuckled lightly, seemingly unsurprised by Sara’s questions.

“I’m military,” She said, “not freelance.”

“Yeah.” Sara nodded slowly, “I’m just used to him being Dad, I suppose. Alliance never suited me.”

“We’re all suited to different roles.” And thus the topic was dropped, for the time being. Sara and Cora weren’t exactly uncomfortable around each other, they just… didn’t have much in common. Not that they knew of, at any rate. The need to have something to talk about was overwhelming, but what could they discuss beyond the Initiative? Cora eventually cleared her throat and started up a new topic, “So, what’s the old man been training you with?”

“Just pistols.” Sara told her, “We tried shotguns but I sucked at it.”

“Huh.” Cora sounded genuinely surprised, prompting Sara to face her fully, “I’ve seen you boxing before, and doing hand-to-hand drills with Alec. You’re really good, he taught you how to fight didn’t he?”

“Of course he did. I can fight with my hands, I can hold my own in a bar fight just fine. But guns don't generally make appearances in bar fights, and I’m definitely not good enough to hold my own should a true hostile situation arise.” Cora’s face turned contemplative as she continued, “It’s easier when there’s chaos around, lots of people all fighting each other, then I’m not the center of attention. Put a shotgun in my hands and suddenly everyone’s looking and I can’t manage it.”

“You need a sniper rifle.” 

It was such an out of the blue statement Sara was frozen in confusion for a few moments. No one had mentioned sniper rifles to her, and she’d never considered it. She looked at Cora incredulously, “Excuse me?” 

“Sniper position,” Cora clarified, “watching over the battlefield. You’re strong enough to hold and carry the gun around, strong enough to withstand the recoil, but you’d stay in the back. Enemies wouldn’t see you-- much less focus on you-- for at least a short period of time, and it leaves you enough distance to move before they reach you. You seem like you have the mathematical mind to predict movements, and you have quick reaction times based on what I’ve seen of your hand-to-hand combat. I think it would be perfect for you.” Sara didn’t say anything, she just stared until Cora snorted in amusement, standing them both up. “Lets go try it.”

“Are you sure?” Sara asked, a little strangled, “You don’t want to stay here to oversee the training?”

Cora pat her back and led her from the courtyard, “Alec has it under control, he doesn’t need me around all the time.”

“…Okay.” She agreed— she couldn’t do anything else, really. Cora led her away, and a new kind of training was born.

—

It had only been a few days since Traya had left for their investigation, and Sara hadn’t seen them since. She was curious about it all but her work and her training kept her busy enough to leave it at the back of her mind. 

She’d spent a lot of time with the Pathfinder team over the months. They were an effective and diverse bunch of specialists and Sara was proud to know them. They would be fantastic assets to her father in Andromeda, she knew. Sara didn’t know them the same way Scott did, of course, but she knew enough to enjoy their company.

“You’re from DC?” Kirkland asked Hayes— the conversation had shifted from their educational histories to their birthplaces. 

“Damn right, born and raised.” Hayes replied with a proud nod.

“Me too!” Kirkland exclaimed excitedly, “Well, until I left for college, but that's another story.”

Fished jumped in, “What about you, Liam?”

“London.” Liam passed the question to the rest of them, “You guys?”

“Mississippi.” Greer told him, but in a way that sounded like he didn’t want to talk about it, and they would respect that.

“The Citadel,” Scott followed up, “then we moved to South Africa.”

“Eden Prime, colony world.” Fisher said, “This is my first time on Earth, actually.”

Liam laughed lightly, “The Initiative sure brings people together.”

The conversation naturally shifted to their families, which Sara had started to tune out while typing up an email. She was nearly done when a shadow fell over her table— looking up, she found four men in armor blocking the sun, staring at her.

“Sara Ryder?” The one in front asked in a deep, accented voice that sounded familiar, but Sara couldn’t immediately place. Sara turned fully to the group, noting out of the corner of her eye that Scott had dropped his conversation with the crew upon hearing the man address her.

“Yes?”

“Michael Hartman.” The man held out his hand, and Sara stood to take it politely. The name instantly registered, “We spoke briefly a few days ago.”

“Ah, Traya’s brother.”

He grinned broadly, pleased that she remembered him, “That’s me.”

“And your friends are…?”

“Oh, we’re all brothers.” He motioned to the other three men behind him, “Oscar, Anthony and Jayden.” Now that Sara got a good look at them, it was very obvious that the four were brothers, and definitely related to Traya. They all shared the same light complexion, slimmer features framed around light blue eyes. Michael, Anthony and Jayden had deep brown hair, while Oscar’s hair was more curly and a lighter brown. For siblings they all looked very much alike, couldn’t miss it once you knew them. “We’re looking for Traya, we haven’t heard from him since last night. He usually checks in a few times each day.”

“He…” And Sara suddenly had a realization about that, mentally slapping her forehead, “I see. Why are you looking here?”

“You’re the last one who spoke to him.” Oscar explained, “Do you know where he went?”

“Traya was headed to that warehouse you said the shipments had come from. He left pretty quickly after your call ended. I’d look at those coordinates.”

“We did.” Michael sighed, “That warehouse doesn’t exist. It was an empty lot, nothing around and no clues. The last message we received was this.” He showed Sara a message from a datapad, “ _“Following lead, will message you in two hours.”_ That was last night. We can’t get in contact with him. He’s never fallen out of contact before, not once.”

“Strange…” Sara muttered, looking at the data collected from the sent message.

“Uh, excuse me.” Liam’s voice startled them. Sara turned, only just realizing that the team had stopped their conversation, and had listened to what the Hartman’s had been saying. “Leads?”

Well, this would be a bitch to explain. Sara figured it was best to just state the obvious and see what happened. “Traya’s a friend. He’s investigating the Hyperion’s sabotage. Or was, anyway.” She turned back to the Hartman’s, who were trying to best to hide their stricken faces. “Can you trace his Tool?”

“I tried,” Oscar sighed, “but the data’s corrupted. I think he did it on purpose.”

“So he doesn’t want to be found.”

“Maybe, but we’re not going to take that sitting down.” Anthony grumbled, “We need to find him.”

“Okay.” Sara nodded firmly— she helped Traya, after all. She would help the Hartman’s as much as she could. “I know someone who can clear up the data. Do you mind?” Michael motioned for her to go ahead, so Sara sat down and plugged the datapad into her laptop, contacting SAM directly as she did, “SAM? I could use some help.”

SAM answered immediately, as ordered by Alec all those years ago. “Hello Sara. How can I assist you?”

“I need you to repair this data and trace the Tool that sent this message.”

“Repairing. This will only take a moment.”

SAM began repairing the corrupted data, and they waited. Oscar carefully leaned over to watch, eyes widening at SAM’s speed. “So this is the SAM the Pathfinders use? Wow…”

The rest of the group was watching in silent confusion, shooting one another looks as they tried to piece together what the hell was going on. Scott, for his part, was sitting up straighter and sat just a little bit coiled. Sara chose to ignore it, but she knew he would hop up the second he didn’t like the situation. She wondered how long it would take.

“Sara,” SAM broke her from her thoughts, “I must ask what you're looking for before I can begin a trace.”

She’d been afraid he’d ask. “The owner is missing, that’s all. Please tell me the trace.”

SAM seemed to accept her answer, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief. “I can only give a basic trace. This message was sent sixty miles north-east of your location. The Tool was last used fifty miles from that point, on the coast. There is a port in the area, but it has been abandoned for decades.”

“Perfect. Thanks SAM.”

“Should I inform your father of these results?”

Shit. Sara definitely didn’t want him to know a thing, but… it would be best to have a contingency in place. It was a gamble, but what she was about to do in person was a gamble too. “If you don't hear from me tomorrow you can, otherwise let's not bother him. That'll be all.”

“I am glad I could assist.” SAM said. Sara assumed he’d logged off; in retrospect, she would realize that she hadn’t checked.

“Sara,” Scott put on a warning tone, “what do you mean “If we don’t hear from you by tomorrow”?”

“I’m going with them.” Sara replied decisively, standing and putting her laptop away in her bag. The look of surprise on the Hartman’s faces was priceless. “This is really bothering me, there has to be a large group of saboteurs to mess with this much equipment. This needs to be resolved now.”

“Really?” Anthony breathed for the rest of his shocked family.

“Really.”

“Okay, I’m drawing the line.” Scott stood and closed the distance between them, sounding both concerned and exhausted. “You’re a civilian.”

“A trained civilian.” Sara shot back, “I can take care of myself.”

“No.” Scott glared down at her with a complicated mix of fearful expressions on his face, wrapped in a mask of stern authority, “It’s too dangerous for you.”

She gave him a very unimpressed look, which seemed to take some of the wind out of his sails, “I know you’re still mad at me, but—”

“I’m _annoyed_ ,” He clarified, “not mad. This is too dangerous.”

“Maybe,” Hayes cut in very loudly, enough to startle them into silence, “all of you can back up and explain what the hell is going on.” The group was staring at them with varied expressions of confusion and alarm, “What saboteurs? If the Hyperion’s in danger why haven’t we heard anything about it?”

“Not just the Hyperion,” Sara told him, “the entire fleet. It’s the reason the Arks haven’t let yet. Traya was trying to track down whoever’s messing with our equipment, but now he’s missing. I assume he found those responsible.”

“No one was supposed to know.” Michael added in a little desperately, “Our family’s being threatened. I guess Traya trusted Ms Ryder enough to tell her, but we were going to handle this without a fuss.”

Greer seemed highly suspicious, straightening himself, coiling much like Scott had, “You’re not doing to tell the Pathfinder?”

Sara shook her head, “The Hartman’s have been threatened by Hyperion’s leadership, if we tell dad they might get kicked out of the Initiative. That’s not right or fair to the Hartman’s, they’re just trying to keep the colonists safe.” Sara’s back was to the Hartman family, so she couldn’t see their faces. The rest of the team could— deep relief mixed with fear and sorrow and pain. Sara turned her attention to Scott, got in his face with her fists clenched at her sides and look him square in the eye, “So I’m going with them, and you’re not stopping me.”

Scott stared her down with a stubbornness that reflected their father. Sara stared back at him with fire in her eyes, another facet of their father, two warring sides of the same used coin. The rest of them looked between one another for answers or clues to their thoughts, until finally coming to a silent decision together.

“Sounds simple enough.” Liam spoke up, breaking the tension with calm ease, “I wouldn’t mind the field trip.” 

Both Scott and Sara whipped around to face them, eyes widened for two very different reasons— Scott’s in fear, Sara’s in joyful surprise. Kirkland stretched his arms upward lazily, as if this weren’t a hugely daring decision. “Eh, it's been boring as hell here anyway. Might as well go be heroes for awhile.”

“And finding those saboteurs would keep the colonists safe.” Hayes pondered aloud.

“That’s right!” Liam grinned, “We can handle this, we have the training. We have a job to do, don't we?”

Greer tutted, “That’s against the rules.” He argued, although very clearly outnumbered in this matter. He knew it, too— a glance as Sara showed a huge grin growing on her face as the rest of them started getting up and stretching their limbs a little from their prolonged time sitting.

“Ah, rules aren’t any fun anyway.” Kirkland gave Greer a little smirk, which promptly shut him up. A moment later, Greer was resigned to the fact that they were, in fact, going.

“Wha— well hang on now.” Michael cut in; he and his brothers mirrored the picture of concern and alarm at what they were hearing, “You’re the Pathfinder’s personal crew, we can’t possibly ask for you to risk getting hurt or killed over this.”

Hayes shrugged, “Well we’re not doing it for you.” She told them plainly, “We’re doing it for the Initiative, which we have sworn to protect and serve at all costs. We’re going.”

Sara gripped her hands together in elation, “Oh, _thank you!_ ” She gasped, eyes shining in a way none of them had seen before.

Scott was still scowling, not at all pleased, “Dad won’t be happy.” He told her curtly, glaring in Sara’s general direction.

“If he’s upset,” He would be, she knew that, “I’ll take the blame. You don’t have to come if you’re so—”

He scoffed and waved her off with a stiff hand, “If you’re going then so am I.” Then he turned away from his sister, and didn’t look back.

“We have a shuttle.” Michael offered, still a little stunned.

“Perfect.” Liam nodded, “Weapon lockers should be open, lets go before anyone finds out.” _Especially Cora_ , they all thought to themselves privately— while Alec spent a lot of time on the Hyperion, Cora was usually on Earth with them. The whole plan would be shot if she realized what was happening.

Quick and quiet, they left to get their guns and armor. Soon they were on a shuttle flying away from the station they’d spent the last eight months on for adventures unknown.

The Hartman’s explained everything they knew about the sabotage plot— which was, admittedly, not much. As they flew toward the coast the crew became progressively more upset at what they were hearing, until they were all sullen and shaken with it.

“Hard to believe no one came across these saboteurs until now.” Kirkland muttered, mostly to himself although he didn’t seem bothered about the others hearing his musings. 

“It seems like some people higher up in the Initiative are in on this.” Sara mentioned, which didn’t calm any of them down at all.

“It doesn’t make much sense. Why join the Initiative just to sabotage it?”

“If we catch these guys we can find out for ourselves.”

“Down there.” Michael suddenly spoke up, peering down from his seat at the controls of the shuttle. The group looked out the starboard window and saw a second shuttle sitting hidden behind a row of hedges. Beyond was the coast and a derelict port. Michael landed the shuttle next to the abandoned ship, and they piled out to survey their surroundings.

“This is Traya’s shuttle.” Anthony noted as they looked at the plate numbers, “It’s cold.” Scott went to the hedge and peered through it, using the scope of his rifle to look down at the port.

“That port’s useless,” He quickly declared, “but there’s lights on in the buildings.” Sara stepped up to look over the port herself— there were several wooden docks, all rotted away and battered by a rough sea fueled by gray skies and a distant storm. There were some warehouses that seemed relatively intact, though a few sections had lost their roofs. “Your man may have gone to investigate that warehouse. Something’s in there.”

Without a word the group made their way down the hill and through a hole in the chain link fence, probably cut by Traya themselves. The port wasn’t all that big, but it was _very_ old. Several hundred years old, judging by the docks built on top of docks, rebuilt and repurposed over and over again over time until it was finally abandoned. A few old boats were shipwrecked on those docks, still partially tied to their moorings. The buildings were definitely newer, but if there was anyone inside as Scott had suspected, there wasn’t any sign of them outside. All they could hear was the crashing of the waves and a creaking of the boats just waiting to finally sink below the docks.

“Creepy.” Greer muttered to himself— none of them could bare to bring their voices higher than a murmur, like it would disturb whatever sleeping giant awaited them.

“Straight out of a horror vid.” Fisher agreed.

“Don’t say that,” Kirkland groaned, “that makes me the comic relief cliche’ that always dies first.”

Hayes laughed lightly, nervously, “Don't worry Kirkland, I'll protect you.” She told him, and he ignored the tremor in her voice.

“My hero.” He grinned in her direction, which seemed to calm her down.

They stopped in the center of the port, unsure of where to go first. The buildings were imposing, waiting to swallow them whole.

“This would be a good place to receive and tamper with supplies without being caught.”

“We can’t search all these buildings, it’s too time consuming and too risky.”

Jayden was crouched down studying something on the ground a few feet away. Anthony stood beside him, watching him intently until he began to move his hands. Sara quickly realized that Jayden was using sign language, and after a moment Anthony nodded to him. “Tire marks, industrial.” He reported for Jayden, “They lead to the warehouse. Probably our best bet.”

Kirkland was the first to reach the rolling doors, which were chained shut. “Locked.” He reported, stepping back and out of the way. 

“How do we get in?” Greer wondered aloud— After all, none of them were trained to pick locks. 

“Scott could get us in.” Sara piped up after a moment. He couldn’t pick locks, but he was a biotic. That would be enough for an entrance, although not a stealthy one.

“I—” He choked, “What?!”

“Just break in the door, piece of cake.”

“No way in hell, Sara.” He argued back, “This is way too risky, if we can’t go in undetected we’re not going in at all.”

Sara smirked at him, knowing exactly how to get the rise she needed. They needed to get into that warehouse and find Traya. “Oh, afraid you won’t be able to break one little door?”

“I didn’t say that,” He hissed, “I’m saying this is a bad idea!”

“So you can’t do it.”

Scott stared at her, hands shaking and eyes wide. Sara stared back, just waiting for the shoe to drop.

And drop it did. Scott turned to the door and with a biotic-infused kick, snapped the chains and kicked in the doors, looking extremely unhappy about it. Sara walked past him victoriously. “Why thank you, dear brother.”

“Such a gentleman.” Hayes backed her up as she followed Sara into the building.

“I hate you.” Scott grumbled.

“No you don’t.”

The inside of the warehouse-- the front section of it anyway-- was dark and filled with crates on top of crates, as well as several loading vehicles. Only the upper windows provided light for them to search by, beyond their armor’s flashlights. Michael immediately went to some of the crates and inputted their numbers, while the rest searched for anything worth mention.

“These are designated for initiative stations across the continent.” Michael reported, “They shouldn’t be here.”

“Sure, but where’s the people who brought them here?” Liam asked nervously, pulling out his rifle on instinct. “We did just make a lot of—”

They heard the footsteps first, echoing down a nearby hallway leading to the back part of the warehouse. A great number of heavy steps, perfectly in sync, growing louder as whatever it was approached. The footsteps sounded distinctly metallic.

Everyone pulled out their guns at once, taking up defensive positions behind the crates, watching to see what was going to appear. “You just had to say something, didn’t you.” Fisher muttered to Liam, who shrugged apologetically in response.

The footsteps grew louder. The lights came next, several blinking lights appearing down the dark hallway. Then the light of the windows above hit, and they watched as about four dozen defense mechs marched out of the darkness, weapons raised, firing as soon as they’d spotted the group.

They fought back, but their bullets had little effect on the armored plating of the mechs, forcing the group into a corner. They had enough firepower to hold them back, but not enough to move forward. Their only advantage was the fact that the mechs were studiously protecting the crates of equipment, and didn’t fire into their cover because of it. Sara watched the mechs for a time, an inkling stirring in the back of her mind. Then a realization hit her.

Sara grabbed Scott and pulled him down, “Those are short range mechs!” She told him, “Cover me while I go to the air vents, if I can find their mainframe I can shut them all down!”

Scott’s eyes bulged from his head, “Are you sure?! That’s really dangerous!”

“I’m sure!” A well timed explosion from an ill-aimed shot got her point across, “You got a better plan?!”

Scott stared at her for a moment before deciding either that it wasn’t worth the trouble of arguing or that she was right; Sara didn’t really care which. He placed his hands on her shoulders and transfered some biotic energy to her armor, holding it there as a brief shield. “I’ve got you, go!” He said, pushing her toward the vent while turning to fire at the mechs again. Sara rushed from crate to crate until she reached the vent, using her omni-blade to bust it open before crawling inside, only taking a few shots on the way which were blocked by her brother’s biotics. Soon she was in the vents, climbing through the walls, gone.

Sara crawled, peering through vents and stopping often as she heard people passing by. There were living people in this building alright, running around in a panic at this sudden attack. They were armored but only lightly armed.

“They’re beating back the mechs!” A man called from down the hall.

“Urgh!” Another groaned, “I told you this was coming! How could you let that Initiative rat get away?! They must have alerted the entire fleet by now!”

“Me?!” The first man argued, “You’re the one that was supposed to watch them!”

The two disappeared down the hall, too far for Sara to hear the rest of their conversation. But Sara had heard enough— Traya must still be alive somewhere, and that put part of her mind at ease. Now all she had to do was find the mainframe, and since the air vents gave her limited mobility she hoped those men were headed in the right direction. Quietly Sara slipped out of the vents and into the now empty hall, carefully following the direction the men had gone. She was lucky that the squad was holding their attention at the front of the warehouse.

Sara kicked herself for the thought a few moments later as she began to hear more marching from down the hall. She turned tail and headed down a different hallway as a smaller group of mechs marched past, headed for the fight out front. This hallway was darker, made up of storage rooms that weren’t currently in use. But it was an access point, and soon Sara was hearing further footsteps from behind her, this time sounding distinctly human. She was boxed in, the doors locked around her, it would only be moments before—

The door behind her opened with a whoosh, and a pair of hands roughly pulled her through the door. It shut as soon as she was inside, and Sara struggled against the hands, one clamped over her mouth and the other gripping her around her shoulders to hold her still.

“Shh!” A voice she recognized hissed in her ear, “It’s me!”

Traya.

The two were silent, Traya’s hand still covering Sara’s mouth as they listened. Several people ran down the hall and past the door without pausing. They waited until they couldn’t hear any more footsteps before sighing in relief, Traya finally releasing Sara from their grip.

“Good lord Sara,” They hissed, “what are you doin' here?” Traya’s voice was as Sara remembered it, for the most part; their voice was noticeably deeper today, a contrast to the day they’d first met. Sara took a moment to take stock of the Lieutenant— their armor was scuffed and battered, indicating a tough battle. They had a couple cuts, but beyond that seemed relatively unharmed. She figured they’d been hiding out in these abandoned storage closets, waiting for a chance to escape.

“We came looking for you, obviously.” She replied, which startled Traya to a halt.

“We?”

“Your brothers are here.” She explained, “They didn’t hear from you since yesterday and were worried.”

Traya’s brows pinched together at once, a harsh breath escaping their lips, “I thought my message got through! I tried to tell them I would be fine!”

“Well, it didn’t.” Sara gave them a pointed look, “There’s so many mechs here Traya, why didn’t you leave and get help?”

Their shoulders slumped in defeat, “I tried, but the guards spotted me. They’ve been on alert ever since, expecting the Initiative to come after them.”

“So you really found our saboteur's? They’re here?”

“They’re here alright,” Traya confirmed, “and the operation’s a lot bigger than I’d anticipated.”

“We’ll handle it. Your brothers are with the Pathfinder squad, they’re holding the mech’s attention out front. If we can get to their mainframe I can shut all the mechs down.”

Traya instantly focused in on the task ahead, all traces of their worries and fears vanishing behind a layer of determination, “I saw the mainframe, I’ll take you there. Stay behind me, okay?”

“Okay.”

Traya pulled out a pistol and carefully led Sara from the storage closet and back out into the main hallways. The mainframe was thankfully close by, and Traya only had to shoot a few mechs on their way. Sara noted that Traya only took one shot for each mech, aimed perfectly at the junction between the head and the neck— the rest of them were wasting ammo trying to break their shields and armor, but Traya had no problem identifying and exploiting their weakest point with a shot so perfectly aimed it was almost improbable. In the back of her mind Sara wondered just where and how Traya had been trained, if they were able to last this long trapped in an enemy compound without backup. It was a thought to be picked apart later, they had a job to do now.

An open door led to a larger room, the back of the warehouse where the mechs would be staged— they would be recharged at this place, station after station where the mechs could fold up to be plugged in for any number of things— most importantly, they were programmed and controlled from this point. Several holographic monitors were being surveyed by a small group of humans, which showed the metrics of each and every activated mech. Several more mechs were guarding the room. Traya slipped Sara into the room and back behind the mainframe, where Sara was able to connect her personal datapad and gain access.

“They’re definitely Initiative, brought a lot of firepower.” One man said to another, who stood front and center in front of the monitors, controlling their operations. The ringleader.

“Those mechs are tough as hell,” The ringleader replied with a huff, “they won’t last long.”

Sara didn’t have any trouble accessing the mainframe, beginning to look through their programming for shut down commands. She noted the mechs were very sophisticated, newer models that would have cost a fortune. She wondered how they’d acquired a fortune to spend. Traya crouched close by as they both listened in on the conversation, and one by one, section by section, Sara began shut down procedures on the mechs.

“Are you sure about this?” A third man spoke in a hesitant tone, which caught Sara and Traya’s attention. “It’s been months since that relay blew up, nothings happened. Now there’s Initiative security members coming after us.”

The leader glared at his coworker, “Nothings happened yet, but it will. Come on, you’re smarter than that Mitch. Isn’t it just a little too coincidental that Commander Shepard blew up that relay?”

Mitch was obviously nervous, fidgeting in place, “We don't know Shepard did it.”

“Of course Shepard did it. Who else would blow up a relay on the extreme edge of our galaxy-- then get put under house arrest for confidential reasons-- after spending months trying to convince people that Reapers were coming to our galaxy?” Reapers? Sara filed that away in the back of her mind to wonder about once they were out, but something— something very small, almost imperceptible— was nagging at the back of her mind.

“There’s no way Reapers exist. Mass extinctions? Come on, it’s too ridiculous.”

“But there’s too many consistencies. You remember what the Benefactor told us, right? She said that something was coming, she believed Shepard’s claims. She suggested using that Geth array, she predicted the Citadel attack, she knew this would happen.” Mention of the Citadel’s attack caught Sara’s more rapt attention, and her progress shutting down the mechs slowed. And the Geth array… Well, something about that had bugged her from the start.

“The Benefactor also told us to leave the galaxy before they arrive, if they exist. She never gave us any evidence, just theories.”

“That was before those Batarians were blown up by a relay at the edge of our galaxy, when we didn’t know where those Reapers were. Why else would Shepard blow up that one specific relay if they weren’t trying to keep something out? The Benefactor wants us to fly off into dark space beyond our own galaxy, where the Reapers would be coming from. If we leave this galaxy we’ll have no protection. At least here we have multiple alien races and billions of humans to fight with us.”

“Those are just theories. She told us to—”

“She’s gone with the Nexus, Mitch. They might not have even survived, for all we know they ran head first into those Reapers. Our chances of survival are much higher here than they would be out there.”

Finally, Sara got results. Mech groups began shutting down left and right, startling the men as alarms began to blare. “What the-- the mainframe is going haywire! All our systems are crashing!”

“Someone’s here, search the area!”

“Mech group one is offline! Mech groups two, three and four are thirty seconds from shutdown!”

“Switch to remote access!”

Sara kept at it, trying to lock the saboteurs out of their own systems for good measure. She was so focused on it that she didn’t notice the shadow falling over her until said shadow grabbed her by her hair, forcing a startled and pained gasp out of her. A mech dragged her from behind the mainframe and into the harsh lights of the room. With a quick shot of electricity, much like a tazer, Sara shrieked and fell to her knees in front of the ringleader who was staring at her with confusion and a sadistic sort of amusement. Luckily, it seemed they hadn’t spotted Traya.

“Who are you?” He wondered aloud as his crew ran around trying to salvage what they could of the situation. They were distracted, but even through the noise Sara noted something new— the sound of gunfire that she couldn’t hear before now slowly coming closer. If the rest of them had noticed, they weren’t commenting on it. The ringleader looked her up and down, seeming almost… impressed. “Shutting down our mainframe right behind our backs. I don’t know if that’s brave or stupid.”

“I’ve lost mech groups one, two, three and four.” One of the men reported.

“Do we still have five and six?”

“Yes sir, I’m calling them back.”

Satisfied, the ringleader turned his attention back to Sara. Angry and terrified, Sara tried to lunge at him in desperation, which only served to earn her another painful shock. At the very least she was being a distraction, so she put up with the pain.

Then the ringleader pulled out a gun, and pushed the end of the barrel right into her forehead. “Can’t afford any witnesses.” He said, and Sara could only stare up at his finger as he was about to push the trigger.

Then the gun wasn’t there anymore. A battle cry and a surge of power Sara recognized as biotic energy rushed past her, destroying the mech holding her and forcing the ringleader away, making him fly back a good ten feet before landing with a crash. When Sara could make sense of the scene she could see Traya standing in front of her, holding a biotic shield between them and the rest of the room, who were now shooting at them. 

“Took you long enough.” Sara muttered with a groan— those shocks were not messing around. It hurt to move her back and shoulders.

“Just a quick reposition, we’re fine!” Traya called back, sending out a biotic Lance and destroying two of the mechs nearby. With a final glance at Sara they summoned more of their power, launching themselves forward with help from their biotics, using them in a charge against the main host of mechs as they advanced.

Another mech was approaching Sara, so she took out her gun and started to fire at the neck where she’d seen Traya aiming. It took a lot of shots, but finally she managed to hit her mark— not really on point, as it took the mech several long seconds to collapse, but it did the job. The fact that moving her back and trying to stand was torturous was the more pressing concern; she was lucky the rest of the room was focused on the pissed off biotic who was flattening their mechs and trapping their men in large Singularities.

Just then, the main door burst open in a hail of bullets, several mechs flying through in pieces. In all the chaos of Traya charging around beating people up Sara hadn’t heard the second fight coming closer until it was right on top of them. Then they flooded in, the Hartman’s and the Pathfinder squad, aided by another thin biotic who looked very much like Cora, and Sara figured she must have been going mad. Then large gloved hands grabbed her and forced her behind the mainframe, and she came face to face with her father.

Shit.

“You’re alright?!” He yelled over the commotion, looking her over for serious injuries.

“Dad?” She asked, still a little shell-shocked and more than a little confused.

“You’re okay?!” He asked again impatiently.

“Yes!”

Satisfied, Alec began shooting from behind the mainframe, not leaving his still-stunned daughters side. After a few moments Sara managed to shake herself back into coherency, and that was when she noticed her datapad still laying on the ground and connected to the mainframe. They hadn’t removed it. Sara ran to her datapad with Alec on her heels without question, grabbing up her datapad and continuing her work of shutting down the remaining mechs. A cheer from the group proved to her that it was working.

“Watch the big one!” Anthony yelled, “They’re inside!” Sara peered out to see, noticing a heavily armed Hydra mech with its human pilot entering the battle.

“Can you shut that one down?” Alec asked her.

“No, it’s controlled manually!”

The Hydra was approaching Fisher and Greer, who were at a total loss of what to do. Then in a flash it was thrown off balance; Scott had used his biotics to launch himself into the side of the Hydra, just barely missing its guns and slamming into the body, knocking it to the side. As the pilot tried to regain control Scott grabbed the Hydra’s gun, hanging on as he shot into the glass. After a few well-aimed shots the bullets pierced through, killing the pilot and allowing the Hydras to crash to the side.

At the same time the rest of the squad was rounding up the remaining humans, tackling them to the ground and securing their wrists, captured alive for questioning. All at once the fight was over, almost as quickly as it had begun.

Sara disconnected from the mainframe and sprinted over to Scott, who was leaning over and panting for breath, hands on his knees. “Scott!” She shouted in fear, coming to a sliding stop in front of him before shoving him angrily, “you reckless bastard, you—!” She stopped upon seeing the look on her brother’s face— his smirking ‘told you so’ face. He got his point across without a word, thoroughly annoying Sara. She didn’t want him throwing her own recklessness back in her face, but she clearly needed it. She huffed, “Fuck you. Point taken.” 

Scott jumped her then, grinning and ruffling her hair affectionately, “Glad you’re safe, sisi.” He laughed, and all was forgiven.

Well, not all. Sara did have one thing she needed to say to him, she knew that. As soon as he stopped messing with her hair she looked him in the eye, “Hey… sorry. For goading you into coming along and breaking in the door and… you know, stuff.” She muttered just for his ears. He smiled in return, loosely hugging her now that he wasn’t messing with her, truly genuine.

“It’s okay.” He told her, “I know what you’re like. If I was really set on stopping you you know I could just do it, right?” He grinned down at her, “Biotics. You wouldn’t get far.”

She shook her head with a little laugh, “Yes, I suppose so. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

The group started to huddle together, all talking animatedly amongst one another about the battle they’d just won. Even Traya was coming up, arm wrapped around Jayden as their brothers read them the riot act for their recklessness. Soon they’d all formed a circle, the post-battle high settling in.

“You guys showed up just in time.” Traya said, “Normally I’d scold you for the recklessness but I think I’ll let it slide this once.”

“You’re alright?” Michael asked. Something about the way he asked and checked over his brothers carefully made Sara think that perhaps he was the eldest— the way Traya smiled back all but confirmed that. 

“Just fine. Sorry about the mechs.”

“Sorry?” Liam grinned, “Don’t be sorry! That was awesome!”

“Did you see that shot I landed?!”

“His head exploded!”

“That should have been my kill, jackass.”

They all chattered excitedly, recounting their best shots and best maneuvers, until an unmistakable and _furious_ voice bellowed over them, **_“Sara Amahle Ryder!”_**

The Pathfinder. He was marching toward them, Cora not far behind, and he was fuming. Sara flinched harshly at his tone, all but hiding behind Scott for about two seconds before extracting herself again. She was an adult for god’s sake, she could face her father, even if he was angry.

“Well, shit.” Someone muttered, Sara didn’t know who.

“We’re in so much trouble.” That was definitely Liam, who looked like he wanted to melt into the floor.

“That’s an understatement.” Greer sighed in response. Sara dutifully stepped forward, Alec stopping in front of her with a piercing glare that made her feel like a child in an instant.

“Yes?” She asked in a voice too small for her. She cleared her throat, but it didn’t help.

Sara hadn’t seen her father so angry in a very long time. Yet there was something underneath, something that seemed very much like fear, and that caught Sara’s attention. He was scared. That was… unnatural for him. “Do I need to remind you of the Initiative’s safety protocols? All of you could have died out here, do you realize that?”

“Yes.” She replied, “It was my idea, start to finish.”

He grunted, “I know that, SAM was monitoring all of you from the beginning.”

Sara hadn’t thought about that. She should have suspected, should have realized, but… “He was?”

“Of course he was. You thought I wouldn’t notice you asking SAM for a trace? He had to tell me everything the moment I ordered him to do so.”

“Damn it.” She muttered under her breath, mostly at herself.

Alec crossed his arms with his best scolding tone to match, “You should have come to me the moment you found out about these traitors.”

Sara started to speak but Traya interrupted, “I asked her not to, sir.” They said, trying to stand up for her. It didn’t work— Alec didn’t even look up.

“She should have known better.”

“Dad,” Scott sighed, “isn’t that a bit harsh for—”

 _“No.”_ He said, voice slightly raised. It was the same tone he used every time Sara had disappointed him, usually when she didn’t think something through as thoroughly as he demanded. Like those days he’d randomly send a complex problem her way, some kind of strategy or mathematical problem with variable answers, and the disappointment that came when Sara didn’t give him the answers he wanted, never mind the fact that she had too much on her plate as it was and didn’t have the time to solve his arbitrary riddles. “You’re smarter than this Sara, you should not have dealt with this-- let alone pulled the rest of my crew in on it-- without consulting me.”

And Sara felt very small right then, but she put on a brave face for all the people behind her who were watching. It was a little humiliating, but nothing he hadn’t done before. She would deal. “I thought you'd kick the Hartman family off the Hyperion.”

She could see something shift in his face, something less like anger and more contemplative. “That was reckless.” He told her sternly.

“But necessary.” He knew how to push her buttons, but she’d learned how to push back, “What if we’d done nothing? What if these traitors had gotten away? We’d have had an inoperable fleet of Arks and Traya would have been reprimanded for doing the right thing, I couldn’t let that happen. I came up with the best plan I could at the time.”

 _“That’s not good enough.”_ He growled, and Sara visibly flinched. There it was— those four words that cut deeper than anything else ever had, that always put Sara in her place without fail, without exception. The words she feared and dreaded and never let go, never lived down. No doubt everyone else had seen her flinch, but she wasn’t going to back away with her tail between her legs, not in front of them. “What if you’d all died here?”

“She didn’t force any of us to come, Pathfinder.” Liam spoke up in her place, “We volunteered on our own. Sara didn't do anything wrong.”

“That’s… not entirely true.” Sara told them; she’d lost her argument the moment her father had said those four words. It was done, and she wasn’t going to act like she’d been the smart one, had made the smart plan. It wasn’t smart. It couldn’t have been smart. “This was too reckless. Realistically I should have asked you, I admit that, but given our superiors had already threatened Traya and his family I didn’t want to cause their expulsions. It wouldn’t have been right.” She wasn’t going to meet his eye, though. Not now.

Alec stared her down for a moment before looking over her, “Hartman.” He called out. All five Hartman’s straightened at being addressed.

“Yes sir?” They parroted as one, which made Alec smile just a little, albeit strained.

“ _Lieutenant_ Hartman.”

Traya stepped up to Sara’s side, brushing her arm just slightly, just enough to let her know they were there. “Yes?”

“You were threatened by our head of security to ignore these saboteurs, weren’t you?”

“Yes sir.”

He hummed, “You investigated despite that?”

“Yes sir. I didn't mean to rope your team into it. I'm deeply sorry.”

“I arrested our head of security last night, along with several senior officers.”

Both Sara and Traya’s eyes snapped up to his in shock— no doubt everyone else looked the same. “What?!”

Alec seemed significantly calmer. Still upset but also strangely proud, and Sara wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “I’ve been investigating the station’s sabotage for months. SAM and I have been trying to track down these traitors ever since we lost critical navigation files, we’ve been monitoring our officers to find those responsible. We knew our head of security was involved the moment you were threatened, but I was still trying to find their base here on Earth. There’s been so much damage I hadn’t had the chance to follow any leads myself. You did what I couldn’t, and you did it at great personal risk to yourself.” He placed his hand on Traya’s shoulder and squeezed, “Your position is secure, you have my word. I’d like to give you a damn medal for this, but unfortunately I need to ask you— all of you— to keep this incident quiet. There’s no need to scare the colonists now. Am I understood?”

All of them straightened at once and chorused, “Sir, yes sir!”

Sara stared at him incredulously, “If you knew all along—”

“I knew we had rats in the system, but I didn’t know where. The only way to track them down was to make them think they were undetected, so I told no one and kept a close eye. Now that they’ve been apprehended we can finish repairs and leave the Milky Way. We’ve got a lot of work to do.” He walked past them and toward the doors, “Lets get moving!”

The group followed him as instructed, carting out their prisoners, but Scott lagged behind for Sara. She stared after him for a few moments— a thought that started with that strange conversation between the saboteurs was starting to take shape, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it yet.

—

Dr Carlyle had been waiting at Alec’s shuttle on the outskirts of the port. He dutifully checked over everyone while Alec took their statements of the incident for a proper report. Sara was one of the first, and as soon as she was done she walked back into the port to the water’s edge, where she could stand in peace for a time. The storm out at sea had broken, and the waves on the port were not as harsh— still rocky, but not dangerously so. 

Sara’s mind was racing. Now that the adrenaline had worn off her mind raked through all of the information she’d gathered in that warehouse, the conversation she’d overheard which sent her reeling. Dots were forming in her mind, connections that made some sense in context to her work with the Initiative. But she was also missing something, some sort of data that she wouldn’t have; that didn’t mean she didn’t know who did. She was resolved to talk to her father about this, away from the group when she could really, properly talk to him. It nagged at her, ate away at her, and though she certainly wasn’t known for anxiety she felt it bubbling just below the surface.

“Hey.” Traya’s voice knocked her from her spiraling thoughts, the Lieutenant coming to stand at Sara’s side with a loose and open posture. “You good?” They asked, both knowing they weren’t talking about the battle.

“Yeah.” Sara replied, “Just needed some air.”

They nodded, “If it's any consolation, you did well keeping your head. Just wish it had ended a little better, he was pretty hard on you.”

She shrugged lightly, “Don't feel responsible. This was all worth it.” Traya didn’t seem entirely happy with that answer, but they dropped the topic anyway. Sara took a breath and allowed some of her anxiety to melt away, folding it away for later. She’d never been so glad for the ability to compartmentalize. On her exhale she turned towards Traya, “I’m sorry, by the way.”

They turned to her in turn, eyebrow raised almost to their hairline, “For what?”

“I’ve been calling you Ms Hartman. I didn’t know it was mister. You could have corrected me, I’d have switched.”

Traya surprised Sara by breathing out a relieves sigh, “Oh good, thought you’d actually done something wrong.” They grinned, “The day we met I was Ms Hartman. Today I’m Mr Hartman. Two days ago I wasn’t either one, and tomorrow… Well, I don’t know yet. It’s all part of who I am, male and female, both and neither.”

That confirmed Sara’s suspicions, and she was grateful to hear it from the source. She nodded lightly, “Anything you prefer?”

“‘They’ works just fine.” Traya shrugged, “To be perfectly honest, I usually don’t care. My brothers are pretty adamant on asking every day but they’re an exception to the rule.”

The soft smile on Traya’s face was unmistakable. It did much to calm Sara too, something in there that seemed so motherly. It surprised her, in a good way. “The Initiative’s a big jump. What made all five of you decide to sign up?”

Traya spread their hands a little, “We wanted a new start. Andromeda is about as fresh a start as one can get.”

“I hope it’s everything you want it to be.”

“I’m sure it will be. Protecting people is something all of us have always been very good at. Failing that, we’re pretty good at farming. We’ll make ourselves valuable one way or another.”

“Alliance trained?” Sara asked to clear a question mark in her own mind.

“Me and Michael are. The two of us trained the other three personally. We also taught them to sing and play music, gave them options. I sure miss playing.”

She grinned, not having expected that, “Really?”

“Absolutely. Kept us together through tough times. We played up and down the bible belt for years.”

“Huh…” An idea hit her then as Alec was calling for everyone to load up into the shuttle, “Well, if you guys have instruments I think I've got an idea for you.”

—

Alec had seen to his squad, taken their statements and brought them all safely back home. He gave them all a stern talking to and a warning, then left in a flurry in light of SAM sending him an urgent message. It was late, and the halls to the shuttle bay were empty, allowing him to respond to those messages without any questions.

“Work on final repairs have begun,” SAM reported, “Pathfinder Barro would like to discuss certain details with you.”

“Tell him we’ll talk once I’m back on the Hyperion.”

Alec entered the shuttle bay, which was also empty for the night. He walked to his shuttle, but stopped upon seeing a figure leaning against the door waiting for him, arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

“Sara.” 

“Dad.”

Sara didn’t move, and Alec was more than a little confused. The look on her face was one he couldn’t quite categorize. “Everything alright?” He asked her in concern. She huffed in response, an intensity forming in her features that made him freeze.

“Three hundred thousand Batarian lives. Relays aren’t supposed to be destructible but here we are, a relay and a civilization wiped off the map. That one incident scared Initiative colonists into sabotaging the entire fleet of Arks.”

“It would appear that way.” He replied neutrally, trying to gauge where this was going. That only seemed to anger Sara further.

“I looked into the incident. It’s reported that the system was deliberately destroyed. Nothing could have obliterated a Mass Relay without due cause-- relays are nearly impossible to destroy, it would have taken immense power and resources. There wouldn't have been any chance for those Batarians to escape. Why would someone do that to innocent civilians without reason?”

“I don’t know.”

Sara glared at him now, openly angry in a way he’d not seen since she’d arrived on Earth all those years ago, when Ellen lay dying in hospital. “You haven’t been honest with me in years.” She hissed, pushing off the shuttle and coming closer. Alec stood there and he waited, stock still. “It’s all far too coincidental. We were supposed to launch almost eight months ago, with the Nexus, but we were delayed. You’d think the Nexus would have waited for us-- the people, the workers, their backbone. They have a skeleton crew, not nearly enough to survive in Andromeda on their own. So tell me dad, why were they in such a rush to leave this galaxy? We never would have left this galaxy had those saboteurs not been caught, so why were they willing to risk us never arriving in Heleus?”

And Alec couldn’t answer those questions. He knew exactly where she was going, but didn’t know how many pieces of the puzzle she held. He had no idea what she’d overheard in that warehouse, nevermind what she’d learned during her time on Sur’Kesh. So he went for deflection instead, hoping beyond hope that she would back down. “Don't worry about this incident Sara, we'll—”

Sara got in his face, nearly chest-to-chest, **_“Shut. Up.”_** She demanded, and he did. He’d seen Sara in anger, but never quite like this. Never this… direct. “Stop telling me not to worry and start telling me the _truth_.” When he did not reply she continued in a furious hiss, “I know _exactly_ how long you’ve been involved with the Initiative, alright? I’ve known for over a year.” She definitely took note of his eyes widening upon that admission, and she hurried to follow up, “So you tell me, how did the Quarians just happen to conveniently find a Geth array looking out into dark space, _empty_ dark space, only a few years before the Citadel attack? You said, and I quote, “The Initiative turned it to Andromeda”, so what were the Geth looking for before? Then those Geth launched an all out attack on the Citadel, and their reasons for doing so remain unknown. Why did that attack prompt the Initiative to accelerate its time frame from an unspecified number of decades to two years without advance warning? Then, as we’re supposed to be leaving this galaxy, three hundred thousand Batarians are killed by a destroyed Mass Relay that was very conveniently sitting at the extreme edge of our galaxy. These can’t be coincidences.” She had heard more in that warehouse than Alec could have imagined, and the thought turned his veins to ice. “You’re our Pathfinder, you’ve ingrained SAM into the Initiative, Jien’s your friend, there’s absolutely _no way_ you’re not involved in whatever the hell is going on. Tell me what you’re running from. Tell me what these “Reapers” are.”

Sara hadn’t raised her voice, as she usually would, but she also didn’t need to. The harshness and severity in her voice was enough, and yet Alec still could not answer her. “I-- I've never heard that term before.”

“Seriously?” She barked out an incredulous laugh, “Do you really think I haven’t noticed all this anxiety you’ve been carrying? I’ve lived my entire life with you! You know exactly what’s happening, I’m not an idiot!”

“Sara…” He sighed, pushing her back only a fraction. She didn’t want to move, but moved back a step by his silent request anyway, “you know I can't answer you. I have an obligation. There’s confidential information that I can’t share with you. I need you to stop asking.” The truth usually got through to Sara better than anything, even if it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She huffed and shook her head, running her fingers through her hair in irritation, “We’ll be in Andromeda soon, it’s not going to matter anymore.”

“What happens if we were to stay?” She shot back, “If we don’t make it out before whatever you’re trying to run from appears?”

“Then we’re all going to die.” That stopped Sara in her tracks, and she stared at him in true surprise, “Every single one of us will die, and there will be _nothing_ left.”

“… Mass extinction.” She muttered, “They’re real, and you’ve known all along.” Alec’s silence was admission enough, “How long have you known?” She demanded.

“Long enough to secure us a way out.” 

“Us.” She snorted, “Us and a couple hundred thousand. What about the billions still here?”

“We can’t save everyone.” He told her matter-of-factly, for it was true. Deep down she knew that, but she certainly didn’t like it. She forced out a frustrated sigh and walked a few steps away from him, shaking her head again. Alec fidgeted with his hands for only a moment before biting another bullet, since she couldn’t get much angrier anyway. “Sara, I-- I don’t want you to feel like you can’t come to me when you’re in trouble.”

She looked back at him with a flat glare, “I wasn’t in trouble.”

“You could have died. Both of you could have died. I would have helped you if you’d just asked me, don’t you know that?” And sure, perhaps he sounded a little more desperate than he’d normally allow, but… well, this was Sara. She’d seen him in worse states. But Sara wasn’t having any of the pity party, she faced him fully and balled her fists angrily.

“If you’d been honest, we would have helped you first. This could have been dealt with long ago.” She stepped into his space again, “You keep lying to me over and over again. Why would _I_ come to _you_ for help of _any kind?_ ”

Alec nodded, resigned to her anger, hoping it wouldn’t last long. “Andromeda.” He said, knowing he needed to end the conversation before it got much more out of hand, “Things will change there.”

“You think so?” 

“I do. They have to.” 

Sara showed no signs of wanting to respond. She didn’t move out of his way either, forcing Alec to step around his daughter to finally climb into his shuttle. As he took off he spared one last look at her, at the fury she didn’t bother to hide, and hoped they wouldn’t be too late.

Sara watched him fly away without a sound. She had a lot to think about.

—

Sara had read everything she could about the Reapers, but there hadn’t been much. Just rumors and a few news articles from a couple years back, when Commander Shepard was making noise about an alien threat coming to the Milky Way. There wasn’t any real information out there for the public to see, nothing like the things she’d heard. She could see why people had brushed the notion aside, if they’d heard about it at all. But Sara knew her father well, and knew he would not be so anxious without cause. They had to be real, in some fashion, and she wondered how he knew that. 

Sara couldn’t look up at the stars anymore without wondering and questioning. It had been a couple weeks since they’d dismantled the plot to sabotage the Initiative, and still they were stuck on the group waiting for repairs to be done. But, less and less work was coming to those on Earth’s surface, indicating that they’d be boarding the Hyperion soon for the jump. She wondered what that truly meant.

The residents wanted to throw themselves a party before leaving. After all they’d all worked hard, and deserved the night off. Sara looked behind her at the festivities, scores of people talking and drinking and dancing. It reminded her of her own dance with a boy she missed terribly. It almost hurt to watch the dancing couples— she wanted to talk to Kallo, wanted to discuss the Reapers with him and get his opinion, she knew he would find whatever piece she was missing, he always did. But he wasn’t there, hadn’t been for months, and Sara was desperately lonely.

At least the music was good. Sara had invited the Hartman family down to play for them, and they were very good. It was the third time they’d come down to put on a concert, and they played everything from country to rock to pop to jazz. Traya was lead singer, also playing the guitar and the piano, with occasional violin duets with Jayden. Michael was also a lead singer, who stuck to the guitar. Anthony and Oscar were the backup singers, Anthony would be on a third guitar, the piano or a cello, while Oscar played the drums and occasionally a trumpet solo. Jayden played a beautiful violin which had made a few people cry, and could also play a viola, a cello and a saxophone. They were wonderful, and through these visits Sara had become good friends with Traya, who lit up every time they got to play for others. Sara hadn’t had such a good friend since leaving Sur’Kesh, and was eternally grateful for the opportunity.

Sara looked out over the darkened landscape, then up to the starry sky, letting her mind wander. She didn’t know how long she stood there but eventually Abagail came to see her. “Hey,” She knocked Sara’s shoulder with her own to get her attention, “Great idea, this.” She said, nodding in the Hartman’s direction.

“Yeah, I thought so.” Sara smiled, “They’re really good.”

Abagail watched Sara a moment, taking note of the strain in her smile and the wanderings of her eye. “You look odd.” She said, “Everything okay?”

“Just a bit tired, that’s all.” She lied, and Abby seemed to know it. 

“…Well,” She shrugged, “we're all going to get a six hundred year nap soon. I hope “feeling tired” won’t be a thing for awhile after that.” She knocked Sara’s shoulder again with a wide grin, “Drinks are on me when we get there, you can tell me what it’s like working for a Pathfinder.”

Sara gave her a more genuine smile in return, “Deal.”

Abagail turned her attention to the outdoor bar, where several men and women were standing and drinking. “Speaking of drinks, I think I’ll have a little fun before we leave.” She stood straight and began to walk away, “Have a good night.”

“Play safe!” Sara called after her, making her laugh lightly in return.

Sara watched her go, and didn’t look back up at the sky that night. She could feel anxious tomorrow. Tonight… well, there her brother was, chatting with Cora and enjoying the night. She could enjoy herself too. She would. She knew that’s what he would have wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who may be confused, Traya Hartman is genderfluid and goes by She, He and They pronouns.
> 
> Are you following my **[official Frontier page](https://the-andromeda-frontier.tumblr.com)** yet? It's the best place to get updates about the story, as well as other cool surprises!


	12. Launch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In one moment, everything Sara had heard and read clicked into place, a puzzle in her mind completed. Little bits and pieces over her years with the Initiative forming a heart-stopping picture, making perfect and terrifying sense; a _reason_. She stared at that ship, and she knew.
> 
> “Reapers…”
> 
> -
> 
> As the Arks are about to leave the Milky Way they are faced with an incomprehensible enemy, standing between them and their own survival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I'm trying to speed up the updates. Hope you're enjoying the story so far and remember, comments are a writer's lifeblood!

Six months. It had taken the Arks _six goddamn months_ to finish their repairs, due in no small part to other saboteurs who’d broken into cells under someone called the Benefactor. It was maddening. Sara was spending less and less time on Earth, too busy up on the Hyperion helping out in the repairs. Soon she was living there full time trying to get the job done. When she wasn’t on the Hyperion she was on Earth allowing her father to give her more intensive training, both in hand-to-hand and weaponed combat. Scott noticed her sudden dedication, but the only time he asked Sara she avoided him for three days, and he didn’t ask again. 

The guns were the hardest part. Something in her mind seemed to not want to learn— her aim was always just a little bit off, her time reloading a little too slow. Alec was trying to find a way to sharpen her aim, but… well, her left eye wasn’t what it once was, and that threw her off. It was frustrating, but at least she had the basics. Surprisingly she did do decently with a sniper rifle; not as useful in all circumstances, but it was something. At least that she could aim with some consistency— specifically, she didn’t have to use her left eye in any capacity for the job. Then she would go right back to the Hyperion for long hours and grueling tasks.

There was one blessing out of the madness; Sara had gained a reputation with the rest of the Hyperion’s engineers and technicians. They were becoming one large family under the stress and strain, and Sara was rising in their ranks. Not literally rising— Sara already had a commitment, she would be working on the Nexus in Andromeda and she couldn’t physically take on a higher role within the Hyperion’s ranks. But she was rising symbolically, the people there trusted her, asked her questions and collaborated with her. They _listened_ to her. Sara had never felt so appreciated, and had formed a close bond with many of the Hyperion’s working crew. And Sara gained so much knowledge from them in turn, learned every nook and cranny of the Hyperion and, by extension, the rest of the Arks. She knew more about those ships than most, hell she knew more about the Arks than her own father, and it paid dividends in the final weeks of repairs. 

Then, finally, it was done. They were ready to leave. The Earth stations were packed up, the people shipped to the Arks to be put into stasis. Sara met Scott as he landed and walked him to his cryo bay to sit with him as he fell asleep. She was glad to see him again before he was put under, glad for the momentary distraction from her own anxieties.

“Hey,” He muttered, gently bumping her arm with his shoulder. Scott was sitting in his stasis pod waiting for clearance to go under, while Sara sat on the lip talking to him. “What’s with all that anxiety, hmm? I’ve never seen you this stressed, not even in college.”

Sara was extremely interested in a scratch on the floor at that moment, scuffing her toe as she thought about what to say without saying the truth. Out of everyone, Sara felt that Scott did not deserve the burden of knowledge about those Reapers. She could protect him from that, at least. “Big jump.” She finally muttered instead. Scott took it exactly as Sara imagined he would, the bleak eyebrows which weren’t quite on the cusp of pity, just sadness.

“You’re gonna wake up.” He tried to sound reassuring, “You know dad’s going to have SAM monitor you, he wont let anything happen to you.”

Sara hummed, unconvinced. Alec hadn’t given her a lot of answers, just empty promises of SAM watching over her and keeping her symptoms stable with no specifics. She really didn’t believe him.

“Would you do me a favor?” She asked after a moment, a little shaky.

“Of course, anything.”

“I know you think I will, but if I _don’t_ wake up, find Kallo Jath. Tell him… god, I don’t know what I want you to tell him. I just don’t want him to live his life wondering. Make sure he’s okay. I couldn’t live with myself if…”

Scott took her hand lightly, and finally Sara looked at him. He could see the tears she wanted to let loose, but she didn’t let them fall. “I will.” He promised her with an easy smile, “But you’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.” Sara muttered. With a fond huff Scott pulled Sara down to hug her tightly, holding her until his stasis officer came by to put him under.

“I love you, sisi.” He whispered to her, kissing her cheek.

“I love you too.”

Scott let her go with a confident smile, “I'll be there when you wake up, okay? I'll be the first face you see.”

“Promise?” She asked him quietly.

“I promise.”

Sara took a long, slow breath in. Then she exhaled, and he watched her release some of her tension. Then she smiled and stood, letting the stasis officer put Scott into the pod correctly, closing it above him. Through the window Scott could see Sara leaning over him— the last thing he saw was her face, smiling at him as he was pulled into a soft darkness.

—

Alec had triple checked the screen to make sure what he was seeing was accurate. When he’d asked what was on their sensors moments ago, he’d not expected the response that instantly made a pit form in his stomach.

“No idea, Pathfinder.” Dunn had replied, staring at the screen herself “Never seen a signature like this. Whatever it is it's big-- and there's a _lot_ of them.”

Alec knew exactly what was coming. He’d hoped they would have more time, but… “Notify the other Arks, tell them to warm up their drive cores.” He ordered, “Lets get out of here as quick as possible.”

— 

It was almost time to go. The majority of the Hyperion’s colonists were in stasis. All that remained was a handful of security personnel and around two hundred senior engineers and technicians. Soon they’d be on their way to Andromeda. Sara couldn’t wait.

She found Traya on one of the observation decks, along with a lot of others who watched Earth out the big windows, knowing this would be the last time they’d see it. Traya had a strange expression on their face… something bittersweet.

“Hey Harts.” Sara greeted as she approached, pulling Traya out of their strange expression and into a wide smile.

“Hey Amahle.” 

Sara sighed, “You're really sticking with that one?”

Traya shrugged, “I think it’s cute.” Sara gave them a face which only made them laugh; Sara really didn’t mind it, and Traya knew that. “Scott down for the journey?”

“Yep. What about your brothers?”

“Sleeping soundly.”

“It’s about damn time we left this galaxy.”

Traya’s eyebrows shot up at Sara’s tone, “Well well. Is that excitement for the journey, or for something already there?”

“A friend.” Sara replied, soft smile plastered on her face, “He went with the Nexus fourteen months ago. I’d like to see him again.”

Traya chuckled, causing Sara to glance away from Earth. They had a smirk on their face, “Ooooh lordy, you should see your face.”

“Wh—” Her eyes widened, “My face?”

“He must be something quite special.” They continued with a similar look that Scott would employ whenever Sara mentioned Kallo.

“I— Well—” Sara stuttered pathetically, thrown off guard by the forwardness of it all.

“They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.” That got Sara blushing, making Traya laugh out loud, “C’mon, who’s this mystery person? What’re they like?”

“Uh— well.” Sara coughed to try and hide how flustered Traya had made her, which didn’t seem to work. So she tried to talk instead, “He’s kind. And he’s patient, and he’s cunning, and he’s so smart, and he’s such a goddamn adrenaline junkie, and—” She raised her hands with her words, not even realizing that the flustered feeling had faded away as she just focused on him, what he was like, how much she missed him, “And he’s got these _eyes_ , and he’s so hilarious, and such a gossip, and we’ve never had a boring conversation. He’s so full of light all the time, filled with so much joy that just spills over to everyone who ever meets him, he radiates a positivity that I’ve… never had. A-And that way he just— just forgives and loves and _smiles_ , so endlessly compassionate, and—” Then she realized she was rambling, and her eyes shot over to Traya. The smirk had left their face, replaced with something warmer, something soft. Her blush was back as she realized how much she’d said without really thinking about it, “And I need to shut up now.”

“Nah.” Traya pat her shoulder lightly, “He sounds perfectly wonderful.” That made Sara smile, because he was. Traya had turned their attention back to Earth, giving Sara the moment to compose herself. The Earth still turned, slow and serene in the black void. It was hard to believe she would never see it again. It was finally starting to hit her, slow and punctuated like the rotation of her home, where they were really going and what that meant.

“Huh.” Traya’s grunt of confusion snapped Sara out of her wandering thoughts, “Take a look at that.”

It took Traya pointing them out for Sara to really notice them— little dots glinting in the sunlight. A few were closer, and Sara could make out the silhouettes of the Alliance fleet surrounding Earth. More were coming out of hyperspace, taking up position around both Earth and Luna. “The Alliance fleet?”

“Yeah, why’re they amassing ‘round Earth?” They asked, head tilted, “That’s… unusual.”

They two stared at the fleet for a few moments, watching as more and more ships appeared. It was a voice to their right that startled them from their staring, “Hey you two.” It was Cora who was marching purposefully in their direction, holding a datapad in hand, “You're up for stasis in twenty minutes.”

“Personally making the rounds, Lieutenant?”

“Part of the job.” Cora shrugged, absently reading something on the datapad, “The Pathfinder wants us to leave right away.”

“What’s the rush?” 

“No idea.” Cora then looked back down to Earth, where Sara and Traya’s attention were still more or less locked. Her brow furrowed in an instant, “Are those Alliance ships?” She asked, stepping closer to the window.

“We think so.” Traya’s eyes narrowed, “It looks like a defensive perimeter, doesn’t it?”

“It does…” Cora muttered, “Training drill?”

“Could be.” Traya responded, although they didn’t sound convinced.

Cora sighed then, “I can’t stay and watch.” She admitted, turning to walk away, “Twenty minutes.”

Cora hadn’t been walking for more than ten seconds when it happened. When directly in front of the fleet more ships suddenly appeared out of hyperspace— huge ships, bigger than the Alliance’s largest ships multiple times over, so dark they nearly blended in with the void around them had the sun not illuminated their surface. The Alliance fleet immediately began to fire on these ships. Sara and Traya, as well as many others who’d been watching Earth, gasped at the suddenness of what they were witnessing. More people raced to the window upon hearing it.

_**“Cora!”**_ Sara yelled, not daring to take her eyes off the scene. Just as Cora had sprinted back to her side, eyes wide as she watched, something was fired from the strange vessels and Luna Base erupted in a massive ball of fire.

Cora activated her Omni-Tool in a panic, “Pathfinder, look at Earth!”

“The hell are those things?” Traya whispered, mouth agape and breath punched from their lungs.

Then, one of those strange ships appeared in the space near the Hyperion. They could see it clearly from the window— black, absolutely massive, with four large legs and a few smaller ones in back, all sharp edges and glowing red lights, almost shaped like a squid if squids were actively hostile creatures. Sara had a sudden flashback of years past, when she took cover in a bathroom on the Citadel and looked out the window, when she saw a black ship flying toward the Presidium in the chaos.

In one moment, everything Sara had heard and read clicked into place, a puzzle in her mind completed. Little bits and pieces over her years with the Initiative forming a heart-stopping picture, making perfect and terrifying sense; a _reason_. She stared at that ship, and she knew.

“Reapers…” She whispered to herself, unnoticed by those around her.

The Reaper turned to face them in space. The Hyperion was beginning to move, but not fast enough. Hundreds of little lights, like balls of fire, shot out from the Reaper and towards the Hyperion. Some began to slowly back away from the windows, others stayed put. A few people turned on their heel and began to run. Sara, Traya and Cora had all backed away as the shots got closer— then they hit the Hyperion, and there was chaos. 

Explosions rocked the Hyperion. One blew out a wall in the observation deck, near the trio, knocking them all off their feet. Sara’s world went dark as she hit the ground, forcing her to blackout for a few seconds. Then her eyes were opening again, facing spots of fires and debris all around. She was dizzy, people were screaming, and someone was calling her name from very far away. Her shoulders felt very warm— too warm.

“SARA!” Traya screamed, suddenly right next to her, yanking on her jacket. Sara struggled, startled, but Traya shoved her down and literally ripped the jacket from her body, throwing it away and into Sara’s line of sight. It was then that she realized that the jacket was on fire— it took another moment to realize her right shoulder had been burned. It wasn’t debilitating, but it _hurt_. “Look at me!” Traya demanded, and Sara’s eyes snapped to theirs. She wasn’t dizzy anymore, fully focused on the ruins around them and the blaring alarms, red lights flashing all around. “What’s my name?”

“Traya Hartman.”

“Where are you?”

“The Hyperion.”

“Who’s the Pathfinder?”

Sara groaned, “My goddamn father, can we go?!”

Traya pulled her to her feet, “Sorry, making sure you didn’t have a concussion.”

People around them were getting to their feet. A few people were obviously dead and on fire. Nearby Cora was up and had gotten a door open, “Everyone this way! Lets go!” She yelled, and those who could ran in her direction.

“Someone help!” A woman called from the other direction, over a pile of debris. Sara and Traya went toward the noise, jumping over the debris until they found a woman holding another woman who was badly injured and unconscious, but alive. Sara lifted the woman into her arms while Traya used their biotics to move debris enough for them to get the injured women through and to Cora. As they reached the door Traya took the woman from Sara and ran down the hall.

More shaking rocked them nearly off their feet again, and a bright red light illuminated the observation bay. Sara and Cora turned to look, eyes wide in horror— the Reaper had come closer, so close that they could see the legs opening up to reveal a hole glowing with bright red energy, a mass steadily growing and aimed at the Hyperion. They watched, frozen to the spot, red all they could see.

Then the Reaper was knocked off course; an Alliance ship had come to the Hyperion’s defense, firing on the Reaper. It seemed to do no damage at all, but it did anger the Reaper. It turned, and a red beam of energy fired from that hole, instantly tearing the Alliance ship in half. But it was the distraction they needed, and the Hyperion was suddenly gone in FTL, leaving the Reaper behind.

Cora and Sara finally moved then, Cora racing down the hallway carrying an injured man over her shoulders. Sara stopped when she saw some people trying to open a door in the hallway, and using her biotics she managed to pry it open allowing people to pass through. The door itself has been sheared and damaged in the explosion, the metal still warm, and the longer Sara had to hold it open the more she realized the cuts in her palms and the slight burning feeling— again, not debilitating, but certainly annoying.

As the last person came through Sara followed them down the hall. There were a few bodies here as well, people who’d been caught in the initial explosions. Cora was yelling down the hall, herding people through a doorway. Sara followed, but skidded to a stop as she looked down at one particular body that she immediately recognized.

Abagail Delora, laying on her side, eyes open and lights out. Sara dropped to her knees and checked for a pulse that clearly wasn’t there, the shock halting all of her panic in its tracks as she stared into unblinking green eyes.

The thunder of more running feet snapped her out of her shock as a large group ran towards Cora’s voice. Sara stood in an instant and directed them down the hallway, eyes flitting over each to make sure no one was about to collapse and break the line. 

“Everyone hurry, the door’s closing!” Cora screamed. Sara, satisfied that no one else was coming down the hall, followed the last group to the door. The door was shutting slowly, with Cora and Traya using their biotics to try and hold it open. Sara was the last one through, slotting herself just barely through the door before Traya and Cora were forced to let it go, the door slamming shut.

People were gathered in this larger room, injured and panicking. Sara took a look at her hands— the cuts weren’t bad, neither were the burns, but they would definitely sting. “Oh dear, look at those.” Traya muttered, making Sara jump— she hadn’t noticed Traya approaching, “Here, I’ve got medigel.” They took a moment to apply some medigel to Sara’s hands, cutting down on the stinging pain and cooling the mild burns. “You’re reckless.”

“Runs in the family.” She managed to crack a smile, which made Traya chuckle a little in response. Traya moved to try and treat her burned shoulder but Sara pushed them away— it was clear they didn’t have enough medigel for the whole burn. So Traya ripped away the rest of her sleeve instead, so the fabric wouldn’t irritate the wound. “Abagail.” She muttered while Traya removed the fabric, “She’s dead.”

“Yeah.” Traya sighed, “I saw.” They threw the sleeve into a nearby trash bin, “We’ll go pick her up once we’re safe, okay? I’ll go with you.”

Sara stared at the closed door and wondered if they’d have that chance. “Okay.” She whispered, and that was enough for Traya. 

Cora rushed up at that moment, “Are you—” She stopped and stared at Sara’s burn, eyed widening, “Oh.”

“I’m fine.” Sara assured her quickly.

“No, no that’s bad.” She insisted, “Let me call a medic—”

“No!” Sara exclaimed a little too forcefully, startling both Cora and Traya. Sara couldn’t explain that she couldn’t face a medic, not in the middle of a crisis, not when she needed to be helping instead. That was probably unhealthy, but she would think on it later when they weren’t under siege. Maybe. “My dad, we— we just need to find my dad.” She insisted; Cora must have seen the urgency there and after a moment she nodded, very clearly unhappy about it. 

Cora activated her Omni-Tool, letting Traya and Sara peer over her shoulders. She opened up a private link between herself and Alec, “Pathfinder? Can you hear me?” She asked, hoping he could respond. When he did it was over clear sounds of gunfire.

“I’m here!” He shouted over the noise of screams that Sara felt was very familiar, although very broken up over the comm link.

“What’s the damage?” She asked him, all of them wincing over the sound of an explosion.

“We’ve got major damage to deck four and a hull breach on deck seven, as well as a power drain in cryo bay fifteen that’s threatening the life support of those in stasis. We just made it through the relay but we’ve got causalities, I’m trying to—” Another explosion made him grunt and the three of them flinch, “Son of a bitch! We’ve got boarders!”

The screaming Sara had heard over the comms sounded so much like the screams she heard on the Citadel, those husk like creatures that had taken her eye. She pushed herself a little closer to the comm, “Dad, are they humanoid? Black and blue, lots of screaming?”

“That’s— Oh.” He realized it in an instant, Sara knew he would, “Yeah, okay, I get it. What do you need?”

“I’m not the one you should be worried about.” She insisted, “Listen, those husk creatures don’t have any intelligence.” As she spoke Cora and Traya both turned their eyes to her, eyes wide as she staunchly ignored them, “They will run at you in straight lines, minimal movement. If they do move it will only be side to side. Get them into hallways, okay? Choke points.”

“Understood!” He shouted over more gunfire, “There’s other creatures here too, they look— most are humanoid but a few resemble Turians and Batarians and… fuck, are those _Rachni_?!” 

“I never saw anything like those, just the humanoids.”

“Okay. Listen, Captain Dunn will be making an announcement any moment, follow her directions and I’ll meet up with you soon.”

On queue every Omni-Tool on the Hyperion chimed with their signature emergency alert, prompting everyone to listen. _“All personnel, this is Captain Dunn. Please report to the center Atrium immediately. I repeat; report to the center Atrium immediately.”_ The people began to heed the order, shuffling past in a nervous yet orderly procession. 

Sara wanted to follow but the stares of Traya and Cora pinned her in place. “You’ve seen these things before?” Cora asked her incredulously, “Where? What are they?”

And Sara really didn’t want to answer those questions, especially the first one, but not having any information would only panic the two further. She took a slow breath in and out, shoving away the fear and doubt as she faced them. “They’re called Reapers. All I know is that they are focused entirely on destruction, both of life and property. They are very dangerous and we need to go before this situation gets worse.”

Traya didn’t seem to say whatever they wanted to say, but Cora’s narrowed eyed stare was nothing short of spine chilling. “How do you know this?” She asked hauntingly.

“ _Experience._ ” Sara ground out in response, teeth clenched tightly as she turned away, “We need to go.” She didn’t give them time to ask more questions, following the line towards the center atrium and hearing both biotics follow behind.

The atrium was packed when they arrived. The final wave of colonists all packed in together, panicking and trying to figure out what to do. The center atrium held a stage, meant to be an entertainment venue— on the stage a man was trying to calm people down, but his voice was silenced by the terrified crowd. On top of it all, their Pathfinder was nowhere in sight. 

“It’s a madhouse.” Traya shook their head, “No way that guy’s gonna get their attention.”

“Where’s my dad?” Sara asked as she scanned the crowd in dismay, “He’d be able to.”

Cora was reading something on her Tool, “SAM says he’s been held up on deck twelve. This is safe for the short term, but safe doesn’t save the Hyperion.”

“Safe?” Traya scoffed, “These people are damn near a riot.”

“If we don’t get emergency repairs done we’re sitting ducks.” Sara voiced what the three of them knew, but Traya and Cora both looked at a loss of what to do. When Sara tried to read Cora for any ideas all she saw was deep confusion, overwhelmed by the task ahead.

Well, the repairs needed to get done and that meant the people needed to be informed, which fell to the three people present who knew the situation. So Sara pushed her way to the stage and climbed up on top, beside the man who was trying to calm people down. He was a security guard, Tyron, who was way out of his depth. Sara walked past him to the back of the stage where there were several speakers meant for music. It was simple enough to sync them up to her Omni Tool. Then Sara pushed one of the boxes to the front of the stage and stood on top, raising her Tool to her mouth.

“EVERYBODY!” Her voice boomed over the speaker, “WE NEED SILENCE, PLEASE!” 

The crowd was instantly silenced, startled by the loudness of her voice radiating throughout the atrium. Every eye turned to the stage, and Sara swallowed down her nervousness— she knew she really shouldn’t be taking charge like this, shouldn’t do what her father should be doing, but she also knew they were out of options.

“Thank you.” She nodded firmly, presenting an air of confidence that the crowd sorely needed. “Now, I know you’re scared, but I want to assure you that we can get this situation under control if we start working together. As of now we have multiple breaches that need to be closed and a power failure in cryo bay fifteen that needs to be addressed. The colonists in stasis are depending on our strength, and are counting on us to remain calm at this time.”

Sara was focused on the crowd, so she didn’t see what Cora and Traya saw. She didn’t see Alec running into the Atrium, stopping at Cora’s side and watching the show she was putting on. She didn’t see Cora shrug her shoulders when Alec threw a questioning glance at his second. She was focused on the crowd, who clung to any scrap of hope they were given.

“All of you are engineers, technicians, medical personnel and security officers. Every single one of you has a role to play. All engineers, raise your hands!” The engineers did as they were asked, about fifty people raising their hands high, “You’re going to go to deck seven. We’ve got a major hull breach, I don’t want you fixing that breach while we’re in FTL but we need to make sure these boarders don’t make the problem worse. Seal off every hall leading to the breach and reinforce all access points, maintenance tunnels and air vents included. All technicians, raise your hands!” They did as asked, almost a hundred people in total. “Half of you are going to report to deck four to assess the damage there. Make sure we don’t have any power drains or failures, secure all access panels and make damn well sure we don’t start any fires on top of this disaster. The other half will follow me to deck fifteen to fix the power drain which is threatening the colonists in that cryo section. I’ll be leading deck fifteen, decks four and seven must figure out who the highest ranking officer is among your group and adhere to their instructions.” 

It was then that Sara’s eye caught a flash of familiar black and blue armor. She finally noticed her father standing there watching her with an expression of… pride. She didn’t have time to think about that. “All security personnel will report to Pathfinder Ryder,” She motioned toward the Pathfinder, “he will give you your instructions. Anyone who is injured and all medical personnel will report to medical bay one, nearest the bridge, for treatment. Everyone is to set your comms channel to channel three and keep it open for further instructions. We’ve got a lot of work to do people, lets move it!”

The crowd bellowed out an instant “Yes ma’am!” before filtering out towards their respective decks. Sara quickly rushed over to Alec, knowing they didn’t have a lot of time. 

“Do you have enough security personnel to protect us?” She asked, “If we don’t get these repairs done we’ll probably get forced out of FTL.”

“You should have enough time.” Alec told her, “We’ll do what we can and if the heat’s too much we’ll pull you out.”

Sara nodded and moved to leave, but Alec grabbed her arm before she could. He turned her back around, his eyes trained on the burn on her shoulder. It was almost as if he wasn’t sure how to react to her injury, brows furrowed with worry and mouth set with duty.

“I’m fine.” She told him, gently prying his hand from her arm, “We need to go.” Alec didn’t answer her, just squeezed her hand a little in response. Then Sara turned and ran to catch up with her group.

“She’s… definitely your daughter, sir.” Cora mentioned, brows still raised and processing what she’d seen. “But how are we going to defend all those people? We’ve got a skeleton crew.”

“And we’re outnumbered three to one.” Alec nodded, “Sara was right however, these creatures don’t have any conscious intelligence. We’ll be able to slow them down in the hallways and maintenance shafts, at least for a little while.”

“And after that?”

“I’ll figure that out when we get there.” Members of security were gathering in front of them awaiting Alec’s orders, so he gave them the calm and confident front they so desperately needed. “Alright everyone, our people are counting on us. You pin these hostiles down in the hallways, tight corners and suppressive fire, let them come to you. We can do this.” One salute was all it took for the rest to find their courage, and Alec sent them off towards their own little destinies. 

—

It was a brutal fight that would stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Their limited security personnel were split between the three decks, barricading central choke points and holding back the tide. Alec himself used the maintenance tunnels to run back and forth between the decks— whenever one began to crack he’d bolster them back up, a loop that was by no means perfect but was enough to keep them going.

Alec’s Tool began to beep with a message as he was helping deck four put their broken barricades back together. He answered the call just as more of those husks rounded the corner, and he focused on putting them down over answering whoever was on the other end.

“Alec?” The concerned voice of his friend called, and Alec pulled around a barricade for her.

“I’m here, Raeka!”

Pathfinder Raeka breathed out a soft sigh on the other end, her side quiet of noise. “Paarchero reports all hostiles eliminated.” She paused as Alec fired off a few more shots, one particular husk getting far too close for comfort. “We’re waiting for rendezvous. Natanus and Leusinia are still in transit. We only sustained superficial damage. Sounds like you’re having a rougher time of it.”

“You could say that!” Alec forced himself back around the corner, stabbing a husk through the chest with his Omni-Blade. “We’re still in FTL with multiple breaches and hostiles on board! Ready an away team to reinforce us, assuming we make it!”

“We’ll be ready for you!” Raeka assured him, and Alec focused back on the task at hand: keeping everyone alive, which was becoming an increasingly difficult task. The barricades at deck four had fallen as soon as they’d been rebuilt, the husk he’d stabbed was only at the front of the oncoming wave.

“Alright everyone, we’re leaving!” He ordered over the chaos, “Everyone out, move it move it! Into the maintenance tunnels!” Security began leading the technicians away from the battle— once they were through Alec set explosive charges at the entrance of the tunnel they’d retreated into, blowing it apart to slow the advancing Reaper forces. “To deck seven!” He yelled, followed by the deathly screams of those Husks the entire way.

Deck seven wasn’t doing much better, but it was holding. Their saving grace was that the engineers didn’t need a lot of time to secure the area around the breach; welding the doors and shafts shut was a relatively simple task, and they were making great time. Cora was leading the defense on this floor, their barricades were slowly crumbling but Alec could tell they would hold long enough for the engineers to finish their task.

Cora shifted to make room for Alec toward the front of the barricade. She was holding her biotics up as a shield between their forces and the advancing troops— several Turian-like Reapers were focused on this area, and they had guns. “There’s a lot more than I thought there’d be!” Cora grunted, “We cant hold!”

“I know!” Alec threw a grenade over Cora’s shoulder, pulling her back a little as the explosion threw shrapnel past. Then Cora was back out with her barrier in place, sweat dripping from her brow. “We’re going to take them to the Drive Core Hub!”

Cora’s head whipped around to stare wide-eyed at Alec, “The Drive Core Hub?!” She shrieked, wincing as she nearly lost focus on her barrier.

Alec had been thinking about it since the moment the creatures had boarded the Hyperion; where they could safely defend the colonists. His first thought was the Bridge, but it was a thought he quickly scrapped. He didn’t want to attract any more attention towards their flight controls. But where else could he protect their work force with the few members of security he had available? A place with only one or two entrances, easily barricaded and defended, where they could not be outflanked or rushed by the enemy too quickly. Then it had hit him, the perfect place to take their people— and also one of the biggest risks he could take. A risk he’d need to take. “Easy choke points!” He explained, “We can keep everyone safe down there! Round up these engineers, quick as you can!”

“Yes sir!” Cora dropped her barrier and ran to rally the engineers, leaving Alec to keep the front occupied as long as they could.

Up a few more floors on deck fifteen the situation was rapidly deteriorating. An officer named Tanner had been put in charge of their defense, which the Reapers were breaking through. Security was pushed back further and further towards the technicians who couldn’t retreat; they’d not been able to find the source of the power drain, and while they could take measures to slow the drain they couldn’t stop it. Sara knew they couldn’t leave until it was solved, or a lot of sleepers weren’t going to be waking up. 

The technicians were, predictably, getting antsy. The closer the battle got the more unsure they became, muttering among themselves as their work slowed. They looked to Sara for answers, for hope, and Sara didn’t know how to give it to them. She was just as terrified and antsy as they were.

“What do we do?” A man asked her, trembling so bad he couldn’t hold his tools in hand.

“Just… Just keep working!” She replied, “Security will protect—”

A particularly loud explosion had many flinching, a few letting out whimpers and cries of fear. A few security members stumbled into the cryo bay, injured and carrying one another around the corner to try and regroup. One had flown through the doorway with the explosion, dead.

They were out of time.

Sara was about to call it when her Tool lit up, someone trying to connect with her over the comms. She had no clue why they weren’t using the third channel like she’d demanded, but it probably meant something important. 

“Sara Ryder? This is Captain Dunn, can you hear me?” The Captain of the Hyperion was asking for her, by name. That was more than a little unsettling, and Sara didn’t have time to unpack it.

“Loud and clear Captain!” She answered, starting to pull the technicians from their stations.

“The Pathfinder told me you were leading the technicians. Can you fix the power drain where you are?”

“Negative Captain, the enemy is overwhelming security. We don’t have enough time.”

“Then we’ll have to do something risky. Listen to me, we’ve done scans of the ship and have detected an anomaly between cryo bays fourteen and fifteen, somewhere in the maintenance shafts. If you can get in there you might be able to stop the drain, but you’ll be surrounded on all sides by these hostiles.”

The clear unspoken words were not lost on her; it was probably a suicide mission. Sara took in a deep breath, in and out for a long few moments. She wished she had options to weigh, but she didn’t. Of course she didn’t.

“How do I get in?” She asked. Dunn was quiet, almost as if she was shocked that Sara had asked. Then she coughed and broke through her surprise. 

“Maintenance access is in the main hallway.” The main hallway, which security was slowly retreating from as it was being overrun by the enemy.

Well, in for a pound. “Let me get back to you.” She pushed some of the technicians toward their exit and ran to the main doorway, peering around the corner as carefully as she could. Security wasn’t doing well, moving back by inches, trying to buy their technicians as much time as possible. “Traya!” Sara called for her friend. The Lieutenant glanced back at her call, quickly shuffling their way back from barricade to barricade until they reached her, pulling Sara safely back around the corner. “We think we found the source of the power drain, but it’s in the maintenance tunnels. That’s our only entrance.” Sara pointed to the doorway, maintenance access a few feet down the hallway. “If you can buy me twenty seconds I can get in and fix it.”

Traya understood the situation immediately, “You’ll be stranded.”

“Twenty seconds.” She insisted, “Then you can get everyone else somewhere safe. Please.”

Traya stared at Sara for a long three seconds, not really seeing her, their mind elsewhere. Then they stood up and peered around the corner to the fight. “Tanner!” They called, and Tanner— a blond-haired guy with a tattoo on his cheek— whipped around to listen. The two seemed to be friends, Sara wanted to ask about that later. “Buy us twenty seconds!”

“Wh—” Sara grabbed Traya’s shoulder, “Us?!” Traya shot her a determined look, but said nothing. 

“We’ve got you!” Tanner called back. He and a few other members of security moved forward towards a barricade they’d abandoned, cutting down a few husks along the way. Traya grabbed Sara’s arm and they both ran for the maintenance entrance, Sara using her key code to gain entrance.

“We’ll be able to get the repair done from here!” Traya told Tanner, “Get the rest of these people out!”

“We wont be able to come back for you!” Tanner shouted back.

“Don’t worry about us!”

Tanner didn’t have much room to argue the point— they weren’t going to be able to hold this position. “Godspeed to you!” He called out with a firm nod. The two ducked into the maintenance tunnel as security was forced to move back again, Sara sealing the door behind them. It would buy them a little bit of time.

“You’re reckless.” She grumbled at Traya as they began to walk, Traya at the lead with their gun pointing the way.

“Runs in the family.” They replied, throwing a cheeky grin over their shoulder, and Sara couldn’t help but let out a breathless laugh.

The maintenance tunnels were a mess. They weren’t designed to take impacts or enemy fire— on the contrary, the maintenance tunnels were designed to take the brunt of any damage sustained to protect the civilian decks. But that design made repairs difficult, and the two had quite a time making their way through the debris. All around them they could hear the creaks and groans of metal as the ship rushed through FTL, Sara’s trained ear picking up on the strain that some of the decks were under due to their hull breaches. She hoped the other decks were able to get enough done to secure the Hyperion long enough for them to make it to their final destination. The screams and gunfire which echoed between the decks was not reassuring, the ghostly death rattle of a battle she wasn’t confident they could win.

“Captain,” Sara called through her Tool, “we’re in the tunnels, I need directions.”

“You’re coming up on a split, you need to go left.” Directions like these came hard and fast from the quick-thinking captain. She led them between decks fourteen and fifteen to the central maintenance shaft. This was a large circular shaft that spanned many of the Hyperion’s decks at once— there were several shafts like these where their systems all connected to one another. “The failure is getting worse,” Dunn reported, “You have ten minutes, maybe.”

“Any idea where the anomaly is in relation to me?” Sara asked in return; the shaft was shredded. Some kind of explosion had destroyed a good portion of their systems, but she still had a chance to fix the problem if she knew the source.

“Somewhere below you.” Dunn hummed over the comms, “The fault says ‘Undetected Wiring’.” That was clear enough. Sara and Traya both peered over the edge of the shaft. The system’s sections were generally color-coded, Cryo-based systems were always blue. Sara turned her head every so slightly to look with her right eye, for clarity’s sake, and spied the blue wiring severed by shrapnel on the other side of the shaft. It would have been simple enough to get to, had the ladders and walkways not been warped and shredded too.

“Not happening.” Traya sighed.

“It’s not a problem.” Sara assured them at the same moment, causing Traya to give her a rather incredulous stare, “Keep an eye on the drain for me Captain, I’ll reroute the power.” The main access panel was on their level, where any normal repairs or changes would be made. The connections for the Cryo Bay section were completely dark, along with a few other less important systems. Sara pointed at it, “Stay here and tell me when those lights turn green.”

“You plannin’ on scaling the goddamn wall?” They asked, clearly skeptical of the whole situation.

“Obviously.” Traya blinked once, twice, three times before dropping their shoulders and waving Sara on without another word.

The maintenance shafts had layers of walkways that went around the circumference of the shaft itself for the crew to work. These paths were supposed to have ladders and railings for safely, but a lot of those features had been stripped away by the explosion. Sara had her knowledge in climbing to fall back on— another thing she’d have to thank her goddamn father for. Wonderful.

Sara slipped over the edge and climbed down, plenty of foot and handholds to be found among the various panels and plating and wires. She got down to one of the walkways below and carefully side-stepped her way to the other side of the shaft. In a few places the walkway had been entirely sheared away, and Sara would use the wall to climb across the gaps until finally she reached her destination, standing on a portion of the walkway that wasn’t entirely connected to the wall anymore, it was missing a railing and shook with every move she made. She just hoped it would stay in one piece long enough for her to make repairs. Then she pulled out the panel that those severed wires had once been connected to and got to work rerouting the power.

It was by no means perfect. Sara had to take the power from four hangar bays and two med bays just to get enough juice to the Cryo Bay. Getting the power all the way to the pods was another matter— she had to route around a lot of damage and missing connections, drawing out an already difficult task. It was not a permanent solution, but it would last them long enough to deal with their hostile visitors.

“Lights are yellow!” Traya reported.

“Making progress!”

Gunfire could be heard echoing through the shaft. Sara wondered where the origin was if they could hear it so clearly, but she didn’t have time to think about it. She had a thousand moving parts and pieces to keep in her mind, every section of wiring and every relay numbered and categorized in her brain, calculating how much energy each section could handle, how fast they could replenish the power lost to the drain, how long that power could sustain the stasis pods. It would be tight, but the ship would manage it.

Then it was done. “Lights are green!” Traya reported happily.

Sara reconnected with Dunn, “Captain, you should have enough power to sustain the stasis pods for a while. That’s about all I can do from here.”

“That’s more than enough.” Dunn was clearly grinning on the other end, “Cryo Bay Fifteen is back online and operational.”

“Hows the Bridge? Do you need any repairs? We might be able to reach you through the maintenance tunnels.”

“We’re good up here, these hostiles aren’t interested in us.” Dunn shifted, and gave some muffled orders to someone on the Bridge, “I don’t have any information for you but SAM should.”

“Thank you Captain, keep us updated.” 

Sara was about to call SAM, but screaming very close to them startled both Sara and Traya. Traya drew their gun and took up position at the entrance, peering through to try and find the source.

“Don’t see them yet, but I can hear them down the hall.” They told her, “Stay down there, you’re safer there.”

“Geez…” Sara breathed, connected to SAM’s emergency channel, “SAM, are you there?”

“I am here.” SAM replied instantly, sounding only slightly strained.

“Whats going on? How’s security doing?”

“They are heavily outnumbered.” SAM reported, “The Pathfinder has gathered everyone up and taken them to the Drive Core Hub.”

“The Drive Core Hub… Smart. Easily barricaded.”

“Yes, but bulk of numbers gives our enemy the advantage. Security is starting to collapse.”

Sara had a realization just then. The gunfire had started to sound so loud for a reason— Sara looked straight down the shaft, where she could make out the blue-white glow of the powered Drive Core, the sounds of battle drifting up from the Hub which sat on deck five, ten floors below them. The section of the ship with the most security and the best defenses, if one knew how to utilize them.

It seemed destiny was on their side.

“Traya,” Sara called, staring down as she calculated the distance and their relative speed of decent, “can you use your biotics to break your own fall?”

“Of course I can.” They responded, not daring to tear their eyes from the hallway.

“Can you do it for two people?”

“Sure, but—” Traya stopped, blinked, then shot an incredulous stare down at her, “What are you thinking?”

Sara looked upward, right into their eyes. “We’re going to jump.”

“WHAT?!”

Sara turned as much as she could on the walkway, holding onto the wall with only one hand so she could gesture with the other, “The Drive Core Hub is directly below us, and they need help. I have a... partial plan, okay? We need to help those people.”

“But—”

“We’re surrounded, does it look like we have any other option?!” The rise in Sara’s voice startled Traya, a tone she’d never directed at the Lieutenant before. “At least we can help them out down there, we're useless if we stay here!”

Traya blew a harsh breath out, cheeks puffing and eyes bulging; they didn’t have a better plan, but damn if it wasn’t a stupid plan anyway. “Fucking christ…” They groaned and stood up, coming to the edge, “Okay. You call it.”

Sara grabbed the wall with both hands again, leaning backwards and placing her toes on the very edge of the walkway. She took in a very slow breath and let it back out, staring upward, psyching herself up.

“Damn it. Scott’s going to kill me.” She muttered to herself, shutting her eyes tightly, “One.”

“One.” Traya repeated, staring down the shaft apprehensively. They put their gun away and readied their biotics.

“Two.”

“Two.”

Sara swallowed hard and opened her eyes, the shaft stretching upwards for what could have been a thousand miles. It might has well have been a bottomless pit below her too, but she loosened her grip anyway. Palms sweating, legs shaking, but resolve in her heart.

“Three.”

She let go, and she fell.

—

The situation was near breaking point.

Most of security and their workforce had made it to the Drive Core Hub. There they had barricaded themselves in as waves of Reaper forces came at them. The technicians and engineers huddled by the Drive Core itself, which sat in the center of an enormous room with only one way in and one way out. 

He didn’t have a lot of firepower, but they were effective. Bottlenecking the enemy in the entrance. It would have worked out just fine, had the Reapers not had huge numbers behind them. Alec could see the entire strategy of these Reapers in this one group of ground troops— overrun the enemy with overwhelming force, making any form of defense or offense virtually impossible. They still had a chance to win but it would be a long and bloody fight, and he wasn’t sure he could keep their workers safe in the meantime.

Security was being pushed to their last barricade. Husks, once inside, were able to skirt around security and run for the workers— only a few had made it that far and they were cut down in time, but he knew that wouldn’t always be the case. They were both running out of ammo and running out of steam, and there was nothing Alec could do about it. A group of Turian-Husks were advancing on him and Cora, and even their good aim wasn’t felling them fast enough.

Then, intervention came from the sky; quite literally, much to their surprise. A blue ball of biotic energy slammed down in the center of the husk group, sending them flying and clearing the way for a brief moment. In the center of the impact site Alec could make out two figures, one who looked very much like his daughter, who stumbled a little as she stood but seemed otherwise unharmed from the fall. Beside her Lieutenant Hartman jumped up and punched a few straggling Husks away from them.

“Sara!” He called, staring at the scene in disbelief, wondering where she’d come from and why. She whirled around when she heard him, fear and exhaustion very evident on her face.

“Dad!” The two scrambled back behind their barricade, Alec grabbing hold of his daughter in a protective reaction; she didn’t see such outward displays of his more defensive instincts often, but when things got messy she knew his first thought was always centered on protecting her and Scott. It was more than reassuring. 

“How— What—”

“I fixed the power drain. We were in the maintenance shaft, straight shot.” She pointed up the shaft and smiled at him.

“You jumped from deck fifteen?!” 

“Nothing you wouldn’t have done!” Cora and Traya set up in front of them, covering the two so they could talk briefly, an unspoken ask answered. “ I have a plan. I think.”

He raised his brow and lowered his gun, placing all of his attention on her, “Yeah? Lets hear it.”

“The Drive Core has its own defenses, emergency shielding and it's own well of emergency power. If we can trick the Core into believing there's a power failure or a breach in the Core’s armored shell—”

Alec’s eyes widened as he realized what she meant, “The shields will activate and protect the colonists, yes! So how do we activate it?”

“I was kind of hoping you’d know.” She told him sheepishly, “I’m trained to fix things not break them.”

“Uh—” He muttered, scratching the back of his neck; no plan immediately sprang to mind.

“Great!” Sara sighed exaggeratedly, wincing at a Husk who’d gotten close. Alec handed her one of his pistols and some thermal clips, which she took with a begrudging thank you. Alec gave her a pointed look that clearly said _‘Now is not the time for sarcasm’_ to which Sara replied with a tired look that said _‘You’re not as scary as you think you are’_. Alec sighed and rolled his eyes, so Sara gave him a smug smile and a wiggle of her eyebrows.

“Now’s not the time.” He grumbled, and Sara shrugged her shoulders lightly. Alec took a moment to survey the room— There weren’t a lot of power access points inside the Hub itself, so in the event of real power failures or the like the work crews wouldn’t be at risk of the Core itself failing right on top of them. But if they only needed to fake a failure… “Got it!” Alec tapped Cora, Traya and Sara, “Cover me!”

He led the trio to the far wall, who formed a semi-triangle at his back to keep him covered. Their destination was a relay box, a section which determined where and how the Drive Core’s energy would be distributed. There were several more junctions like this one, not to mention a thousand fail safes— destroying one junction wouldn’t hurt the Drive Core, but it would send out a false signal and hopefully trigger the shields. It was their best bet.

“This one.” He nodded, backing up, “Would you do the honors, Harper?”

She got the message immediately, “Done.” She nodded firmly, stepping up to the junction. She pulled back her fist, encased it with her biotics, and punched as hard as she could. Her fist went straight through the junction and into the panels and wires behind it. The reaction was immediate.

“POWER FAILURE DETECTED. DEPLOYING EMERGENCY DEFENSES.”

Just as expected, the security shielding materialized from the floor, climbing up to the ceiling and encasing the Drive Core, and all of the workers, safely within. It thrummed with energy, making the hair on their arms stand on end.

“That works.” Sara nodded once, a triumphant smile on her face.

“Will that harm the Drive Core?” Traya asked, “We kind of need it.”

“Not at all, the Core has an independent well of emergency power. That shield will protect the colonists for now.” Sara explained. To prove her point, a Husk managed to get past Security’s barricade. It ran face-first into the shield, which discharged an electric charge the moment the Husk came into contact with it. The Husk as thrown back, dead. “Gives us some leverage.”

“Brilliant.” Cora breathed, “If we can herd the Husks into the shield we can save our ammo for the big ones.”

“We’ve got a chance. A real chance.” Alec told them confidently, voice firm enough to give them just the hope they needed, “We can do this. Ready?”

“Ready!” They declared. With determination in their hearts and faith in their veins, the four of them charged back into the fight for their lives.

—

The Hyperion burst into the outer rim of the milky way, on fire and bleeding energy but intact, meeting up with the rest of the Arks behind a massive gas giant. It was the Paarchero and the Natanus who sent teams to the Hyperion immediately upon their arrival, in hopes of bringing the situation inside under control.

Little did they know that the situation was already, for the most part, taken care of. Though a few Husks remained within the ship the bulk of the Reaper forces had converged on the Drive Core Hub. Alec knew it would be a bloody fight, though he did not expect to come out victorious. Clearly he’d underestimated the prowess of his security forces.

Sara had managed to limp her way to a control panel, shutting down the Core’s emergency signals and lowering the shields, allowing their workers to leave the Hub. The room was filled with hundreds of dead Reaper troops, not a section of the floor was visible behind fallen bodies and blood. Security had taken heavy losses, but the Ark had survived. They’d done the impossible.

Sara slid down the wall to sit on the floor, breathing erratically, more exhausted than she’d been in a very long time. She felt it a miracle she’d survived at all. Her shoulder screamed at her, the pain nearly overwhelming alongside fresh cuts and bruises, but she’d made it. The beating her knuckles had taken reminded her much of the Citadel attack, a fact which she pointedly ignored.

“Traya?” Her voice was wrecked from shouting and dehydration, coming out as a raspy gasp, “Alive?”

Traya was laying on the floor a little ways away, breathing just as hard. With the little energy they had they raised their forearm to give Sara a thumbs up, not bothering to move beyond that. They didn’t seem to care that they were laying in a pool of blood, mercifully not their own. “Alive.” They declared weakly, letting their arm fall limply back to the floor.

“Cora?” 

Cora was sitting nearby with an injured security woman in her lap, slowly and blearily applying medigel to the wound. “Here.” She called out as she worked, nearly passed out but not quite there, trying to stay strong for the rest of the group.

“Thank god.” Sara muttered to herself, pushing her palms into her eyes to try and block out some of the pesky lights, “Thank god…”

Alec strode to his daughters side and slumped down next to her, immediately hugging her tightly with both arms. He was just as exhausted as the rest of them and didn’t bother to try and show a face of professionalism. Sara, desperate for the comfort, hugged him back just as tightly. Alec placed his free hand over the side of her face, hiding her behind his palm like he used to do when she was little, when horrible migraines made the world too loud to handle. It calmed her down instantly.

“You’re okay?” He asked her breathlessly; it was nice to know that he was definitely still human.

“Tired.” She whispered back.

“I know. But you saved us, do you realize that? Your plans saved us, I’m so proud of you.”

Sara glanced up at him, a fragile look on her face that very few people ever saw. Only her family had ever seen that look. “You are?” 

“ _Yes_ , of course I am, do you realize how many lives you saved today?” He kept her wrapped up in his arms, having no intention of letting go, and she didn’t mind. “ _Thousands_. You were brilliant, so brilliant.”

Sara allowed herself to tremble, her body finally catching up to the stress she’d been put under in just a few hours, more stress than she’d ever felt in her life. She hadn’t heard such praise from him in a very long time… probably ever, if she really thought about it. Her father spent his life focusing on the next plan, the next project. Everything needed to be better, perfect in some way. Even when he was proud he was always insisting they shoot for more, for the best. To hear it so plainly from him after everything they’d gone through gave her a sense of relief she desperately needed.

“Did you see that ship?” She asked him in an attempt to reign in her own emotions, “The big one?”

“I saw it.”

“One of those was at the Citadel. They were here all along, right under our noses. They concentrated on destroying civilian lives back then and they did it today. This… somethings not right.” She pulled back a little bit, enough to look him in the eye, “We need to get rid of them. All of them. Every single one on all of the Arks, we need to airlock them as quickly as possible, we can’t take _any_ with us. These things are different from anything we’ve ever experienced before. If these Reapers are contained to the Milky Way then our best chance of survival is to ensure it stays that way.”

“Okay.” He nodded firmly, brushing her hair back out of her face in a gentle gesture, very much unlike him, “I trust your judgment. We’ll airlock them, SAM will scan all of the Arks to make sure none are left.”

“Good.” She sighed, learning her weight back into her father. Despite his exhaustion he was somehow still as strong as always. “Wanna sleep…”

He laughed, a deep rumble that made her feel very secure. “You cant sleep here.” He told her. Then he froze for a moment, like he’d just noticed something, before he whispered, “God, your shoulder…”

“Shh…” She hushed him, tapping his chest twice, “Tired…”

At that moment Alec could do nothing else for his daughter. He simply smiled and he held her tighter amid the death and destruction they’d never imagined they’d have to face. They would need to move soon, they would need to get back to work, they would need to clean up and repair the Hyperion. But that could come later. Right now they could have a few moments to themselves, and that was enough.

—

It had been a few days since the Reapers had invaded the Milky Way. With help from the other Arks the Hyperion was repaired quickly, but the hearts and minds of its inhabitants were not so easily mended. It was rough for all of them, harder still to collect their dead and find a way to get them to Andromeda where they could be properly put to rest. Sara had sobbed when they’d gone back to get Abby’s body, but collecting their dead was a certain kind of catharsis that all of them had needed.

They were starting to get some images of the war, which in a few short days had spread across the Milky Way, mostly along the outer edges of Council space. They were hidden well enough, but they knew they had to leave soon. The images were terrifying— no one was sleeping, that was for damn sure.

“I remember those saboteurs talkin’ about Reapers.” Traya remarked as they walked with Sara to the Bridge.

“Yeah.” Sara nodded, “I don’t know much more than that, unfortunately. It’s some race involved in a mass extinction, through war I guess.”

“Lord have mercy…” They breathed, though anything else they wanted to say was cut off when the door to the Bridge slid open before them.

Alec was talking to Captain Dunn when they arrived. Sara had gotten to know the Captain a little since she put Sara in charge of the repair effort on the Hyperion after the untimely death of their Lead Engineer. It was a sudden development, but ultimately not a surprising one— it was a request by the workers themselves. They wanted Sara’s lead, and that was a duty she couldn’t turn away from. Dunn gave them a smile and a nod as Sara entered the conversation, reporting as summoned.

“SAM confirms that all the Arks have eliminated hostile boarders.” Alec explained, “They’ve been cleaned up and thrown out the airlocks. All four SAM’s have run multiple scans to ensure that none of these Reaper creatures remain. How are we looking on repairs?”

“Completed.” Sara reported to them, “Although at great cost to our on-board supplies. Nothing that will jeopardize the jump itself, but once we get to Andromeda we’ll need to find resources fast.”

“Are we getting a restock before we depart?” Dunn asked.

Alec shook his head, “In order to remain hidden from the Reapers we can’t resupply anywhere, and no one’s willing to help us remotely. We’re getting reports from across the Galaxy, the Reapers are _everywhere_. So far Palaven and Earth are the hardest hit. We’ve also caught word that the Batarians were the first hit by the Reapers and have been nearly eradicated, but we can’t confirm those reports. Outermost colonies across the galaxy are being annihilated as we speak. We need to leave as quickly as possible.”

“And Andromeda? With the depleted supplies we’ll quickly run out of options.”

“We’ve always had the plan-- make our way to our designated Golden World. We’ll just have to find it quicker than planned and hope our supplies last. The Golden Worlds being where we expect them to be will be critical.”

“That’s a long shot, dad.” Sara piped up, “We have our expectations but we don’t know for sure what we’ll find on that planet. Maybe we should change plans, make our way to the Nexus first.”

“If we can’t keep this ship running off the supplies we have we’ll need to find somewhere to dock, Habitat 7 is our best chance. We’ll check it out once we arrive in the Cluster and go from there.”

“Alright then, it’s settled.” Dunn nodded firmly, “We’ll start hunkering down for the journey before those Reapers get a chance to find us.” The Captain turned to Sara then. She held out a hand for Sara to take, which she did, “Don’t think your actions have gone unnoticed. You’ve been our backbone and our crew appreciates it more than I think you know.”

“Just doing my job, ma’am.”

“Well the Initiative could do with more workers like you. Thank you.”

Dunn and Alec were quickly preoccupied by other matters, always fast-paced, ever changing. Sara left them to it; looking around she spied Cora standing in front of some monitors nearby, trembling ever so slightly. Concerned, Sara moved to join her with Traya hot on her heels.

Cora was watching the vids they’d managed to get their hands on, images of the Reapers as they tore apart Earth and Palaven. It was nothing short of devastating; they watched as massive ships flattened cities, people cut down like butter, the Reapers relentless and ruthless. It was too late to turn back now, but part of Sara wanted to stay and fight. All of this, all the lives lost in just a few short days… She couldn’t help the guilt that flooded her, the knowledge that she would survive while so many millions wouldn’t. Judging by the tears in Cora’s eyes, she felt exactly the same.

With nothing else she could do Sara looped her arm through Cora’s and held on tightly, resting her head on Cora’s shoulder as they watched. Cora leaned into Sara in turn, and behind them Traya placed both their hands on their shoulders. They watched, and they wondered.

They would be left wondering for the rest of their lives, and they knew it. And god above, if such a thing even existed anymore, _nothing_ had ever hurt worse.

—

Sara was among the very last to be put into stasis. Even Traya had been put under, and she was left waiting. With a lack of anything else to do she’d stayed at her father’s side, listening as he held a final meeting with his fellow Pathfinders.

“And you all have enough supplies to reach Andromeda safely?” Alec asked them. They all seemed to be friends, even through the professionalism— it was a bit surprising to listen to, seeing her father both relaxed and authoritative at the same time was a pretty new experience.

“Just enough.” Macen Barro of Ark Natanus replied, “It will be tight but we’ll manage.”

Matriarch Ishara of Ark Leusinia spoke up, “We could use a few extra hands, if anyone can send a few engineers. We’ve got one more power drain we cant find the source of and we’re understaffed.”

Zevin Raeka of Ark Paarchero answered immediately; out of all of them, her father seemed closest to her. “We'll send some engineers over to your Ark, Ishara.”

“Any word from the Keelah Si'yah?” Alec asked, still short one Quarian Ark which hadn’t yet left the Flotilla.

“Natanus got a transmission from the Quarians, they’re still working out technical difficulties on board. They’ve hidden themselves until they can finish working through these problems but they expect it to take a couple weeks, perhaps several months. They recommend we leave without them, they’ll catch up with us in Andromeda. The Quarian fleet will supply them in the meantime.”

“Lets hope they can get themselves out.” Alec sighed, “We need to get the hell out of here while we have the chance. Finish your repairs and start final lock down procedures.”

Their meeting ended with a tenseness that made Sara squirm. She didn’t move from her position beside him, leaning on his desk facing away from the monitors, arms crossed. Her shoulder was killing her, she knew it would scar. It hurt so bad she couldn’t even wrap it, had to wear one of her tank tops to minimize the pain. Luckily everyone who’d survived took care to not look at one another's injuries.

Sara was glaring at a scratch in the floor, somehow offended by its presence— well, not really, but she didn’t have much energy to analyze what she was really offended by. After a moment she heard her father sigh heavily before turning his chair and leaning back to address her directly. “Alright, what’s wrong?” He asked her, staring her down with clear instruction that he would not be taking any lies from her.

“We could have prevented this.” She replied very bluntly, turning the glare from the floor to his eyes.

“You think so?”

“I do. You could have told me about the saboteurs. You could have told me about the tech problems from the get go, you could have told me about the Reapers. I could have helped you on the Hyperion far sooner, we might have been able to leave sooner. There’s a lot of things that might have been different if you’d been honest with me, or Cora, or anyone on the Hyperion.” She massaged her temple in annoyance, seeing the conflicting emotions in her fathers features; anger, sadness, frustration, purpose, sympathies. “Why’s my math off, dad? Why couldn’t you just ask me to help you? That’s my job here, isn’t it?”

His face settled on frustrated apprehension as he avoided her eyes for a few moments, a war raging in his mind that Sara knew never really ended. A soldier always ready for a fight.

“There are dangerous people within the Initiative, Sara.” He settled on saying, although clearly reluctantly, “People I underestimated up until now, people who saw this coming and were willing to do anything to escape it. Those same people had a large following, some of which were among those saboteurs we caught. I was afraid of pulling you or Scott into that mess. If those people are going to mess with someone, they’ll mess with _me_. Not my children.” She knew he was being completely honest with her, she could tell by how uncomfortable it made him. She didn’t dare speak yet, didn’t want him to close back up, “I guess I should have anticipated you’d get involved one way or another. Believe me or not, I was just trying to protect you two. I don’t want either of you in their sights.”

“We’re not kids anymore.”

“No, you’re not, but you shouldn’t have to pay for my mistakes.”

Sara leaned herself forward a little to catch his eye, smiling at him. It was a sad thing, resigned to the past they’d all shared. Alec didn’t look much better. “We’re already paying for your mistakes. Thought that was the point of leaving; until all of this, I suppose.”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.” He admitted slowly, and Sara eased up. Regardless of the lies, this wasn’t entirely his fault.

“So what about Andromeda?” She asked him, “I mean— look at us, people are going to ask questions. Word’s going to spread, and fast.”

He sighed heavily, putting his elbow on his desk and pushing his head into his hands, “It’ll take time for the word to get around, that gives us some leverage. Right now we cant tell them anything. Knowledge of the Reapers needs to be handled with care or we could create more problems than the truth would solve.” He gave her a very pointed look, “You cant tell anyone about this, about what you know or what you saw. You know more than most and that knowledge is dangerous. I don’t want you telling Scott, either.”

“Seriously?” She scoffed, “You know I cant lie to him. Scott will see right through me.”

“Just tell him whatever you need to tell him, as long as it’s not the truth.” He ordered sternly, “We’ll tell everyone, I promise you, but not until we know what the situation is in Andromeda. I find it unlikely the Reapers will follow us, we’ve seen no evidence of their presence in Andromeda and throwing people into a panic over an army that’s not there isn’t going to help.”

Sara grumbled and shifted away from him, curling in on herself, knowing exactly where this was going. “Your lies are just going to get people hurt, or worse.”

“A few lives to save a nation. Those are odds we have to accept.”

She shook her head and stood straight, “No, dad. We don’t. But we’ll do it your way for now, until we have more information.”

“Thank you.” He breathed out a sigh, “And…” She turned back to him, watching at he fiddled with his fingers and cleared his throat awkwardly, “I’m sorry about all this. I’ll give you access to all the files I have on the Reapers, everything I know. You can look through them when we reach Andromeda.”

Sara let her tension go, let her shoulders drop and her anger subside. It wasn’t worth it. She wanted to fucking _rage_ , but it wasn’t worth it, not when they were about to take a six hundred year nap anyway. “Fine.” She muttered, “That’ll do. Just keep me out of your schemes next time, please. I just want to quietly do my work on the Nexus and not think about your fucking plots and plans.”

A flash of— _something_ crossed Alec’s face, which caught Sara’s attention. It almost looked like… like when his work on SAM had been discovered and he’d implicated Sara in his plans. It hadn’t been intentional, but it had _happened_ , and she’d never forgotten the apprehension on his face when he realized what he’d done. But it was gone in a flash, so quick that Sara wasn’t entirely sure that that’s what she’d seen, and after everything they’d just gone through she really didn’t want to believe her own eyes. So she didn’t.

“I’ll do what I can.” He replied, an easy out, and Sara just had to let that go too. It was getting harder to tell herself it wasn’t worth it, but somehow she was managing.

“Fine.” She shook her head and walked to his door, not daring to look back, “I’ll see you in six hundred years.”

She could feel her father’s stare even after she left his room, all the way into the cryo bay. 

Soon enough Sara was sitting in her cryo pod, waiting to go under. She could see scuffs and scorch marks left over from the attack, repaired but not cleaned up— there wasn’t any time for cleaning. In the next cryo pod over Cora was sitting reading final reports on her datapad. Cryo technicians and medical staff were walking around, putting the people around them under for the trip. It was almost their turn.

Sara had sent only one message since the Reaper attack, while sitting in her pod waiting. A message to the Tempest build team who’d been disbanded and sent across the galaxy. She posted to their group chat, just under the last well-wishes her friends had sent to her.

_Reapers are here. Earth is under attack. Arks are attempting escape. Stay alive. Goodbye._

It was all she could do. She doubted the message would even go through at all, but she sent it. Then she left her datapad on; it would be out of power by the time they reached Andromeda of course, but maybe she would get a response back before that happened. She wasn’t confident, but it was a little shred she felt she had to hang on to.

“Cora?” She asked, her voice shaking ever so slightly. Cora immediately set down her datapad and turned a questioning gaze Sara’s way. “What if we don't make it? Earth... what if those things—?”

“We’re going to make it.” She assured her without a shred of doubt in her voice, “Andromeda will be a new start for all of us. A place without Reapers.”

Sara shook her head slowly, very slowly, “A new start. How do you start over after seeing something like that? Earth was my home. I lived there, my mother died there.”

“I don’t know Sara, but… we will. We’ll find a way.” Sara bit her lip, trying to hold back all those fears that threatened to consume her mind. It was useless to focus on those fears now, whatever was going to happen was going to happen, she’d already done all she could but she couldn’t help this, couldn’t shake the terror. Suddenly she heard Cora chuckle, startling her out of her spiral. “You know, I had this stupid thought while we were running from the observation deck.”

“What was it?” Sara asked, shocked she could laugh even with… all of this. 

“We’ll be in stasis for hundreds of years. _It feels like centuries since we spoke._ A damn pun came to mind as I was running for my life.”

And… Sara laughed. It was breathy and incredulous, but it was a laugh nonetheless, and somehow it quieted her mind just enough to focus her back in on the moment. “I think it’s funny.” She admitted. Cora shot a huge grin at her in return.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Heh… it’s still stupid.”

“Some of the galaxy’s best ideas are.”

Her spiral had quieted, but Sara’s hands still trembled. There was so much, too much to fit in her head, and she didn’t know what to do with it all. To think that only a short time ago, waking from stasis was the only thing she had to worry about. She wanted that fear back.

“Hey.” Cora’s voice broke through her thoughts again, and when she looked Cora was leaning toward her with a comforting smile; she didn’t seem well practiced in soft expressions, but it did its job well enough. “I’m scared too.”

It wasn’t much, but it was enough for both of them. In unison the two reached across the gap to hold each other’s hands, squeezing tightly for as long as they could.

“See you in Andromeda.” Sara said when the medical staff finally came to put them under.

“Not if I see you first.” 

Then they had to let go, and both were laid down into their pods. Sara trembled as she stared up out of her pod, seeing nothing but scorch marks and grey walls. As the pod closed above her, as the world went dark around her, she shut her eyes tightly and felt a single tear sliding down her cheek. It was the last sensation she felt before falling into a dreamless six hundred year sleep.


End file.
